Bush Spins Camaro in Secret Service Demonstration
April 22, 2002
By Adam Entous
BELTSVILLE, Md. (Reuters) - President Bush wrenched a silver Chevrolet Camaro
into a high-speed evasive turn on Friday as the Secret Service showed off its
many techniques -- from underwater rescues to sniffer dogs -- to protect him.
With his security at an all-time high after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush got a
first-hand look at what his Secret Service agents would do if his motorcade
were hit by explosives, his helicopter sank into the sea or an assailant broke
through a rope line.
The four-hour tour at the 493-acre Secret Service training center outside
Washington included being driven through explosions that rocked him in the
backseat of his armored limousine and a hands-on lesson in evasive driving.
"They took a fellow who hadn't been driving much and taught me the 'J' turn. It
was a pretty exciting feeling," Bush told reporters after executing the
180-degree turn at 40 miles (64 km) per hour in a new model Camaro.
In a "J" turn, typically used to avoid a forward threat, a driver throws a car
into reverse, accelerates, spins the car into a 180-degree turn and then speeds
off in the opposite direction, a Secret Service agent at the center told
reporters.
For Bush, whose driving in the past 15 months has been limited to ambling
around his Texas ranch in a pickup truck, it was his chance to play Steve
McQueen in the famous car-chase movie "Bullitt" or Burt Reynolds in "Smokey and
the Bandit."
"You ever done a 'J' turn before?" Bush asked reporters at the training center.
"I have. This is the first time I'll ever admit to doing a 'J' turn."
'HE NAILED IT'
After a few demonstrations, Bush got behind the wheel of the 2002 Chevy Camaro
to try a "J" turn himself. "On the first try, he nailed it," one aide said.
Asked if he would try the high-speed maneuver in his pickup truck at his
Crawford, Texas ranch, where he will host Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah next
week, Bush said: "There will be no 'J' turns in Crawford."
During his visit to the sprawling training facility, Bush fired weapons at an
indoor firing range and watched as bomb-sniffing dog searched suitcases for
explosives.
In one elaborate demonstration, the president looked on as Secret Service
agents plunged into an indoor pool to liberate dummies trapped under water --
an exercise designed to simulate his helicopter crashing in water.
The tours have been a staple for presidents in recent years, allowing
presidents to get a better understanding of the lengths to which the Secret
Service goes in order to protect them and their families.
"It gives (Bush) unique insight into how we're trained and what he can expect
to see if anything goes wrong," said Secret Service special agent Brian Marr.
Reporters were not allowed to see most of the demonstrations, but they heard
the explosions as Bush was driven through a mock attack, with an explosives
expert setting off blasts that aides said shook Bush in the backseat of his
limousine.
"It was very realistic," an unperturbed White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card
told reporters afterward.
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