Secret Service code name explained
The United States Secret Service uses code names for U.S. presidents, first ladies, and other prominent persons and locations.[1] The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition.[2] [3] The Secret Service does not choose these names, however. The White House Communications Agency maintains a list that candidates choose from, often choosing ones that resonate with them personally.[4]
According to an established protocol, good codewords are unambiguous words that can be easily pronounced and readily understood by those who transmit and receive voice messages by radio or telephone regardless of their native language. Traditionally, all family members' code names start with the same letter.
The codenames change over time for security purposes, but are often publicly known. For security, codenames are generally picked from a list of such 'good' words, but avoiding the use of common words which could likely be intended to mean their normal definitions.
Presidents and their families
Vice presidents and their families
Political candidates and their spouses
U.S. Secret Service codenames are often given to high-profile political candidates (such as presidential and vice presidential candidates), and their respective families and spouses who are assigned U.S. Secret Service protection. These codenames often differ from those held if they are elected or those from prior periods if they held positions needing codenames.
1968
1972
- George McGovern – Redwood[42]
1976
1980
1984
1988
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Government officials
Other individuals
Locations, objects, places and parts of Secret Service
U.S. Secret Service codenames are not only given to people; they are often given to places, locations and even objects, such as aircraft like Air Force One, and vehicles such as the Presidential State Car.
In fiction
In popular culture, the practice of assigning codenames is often used to provide additional verisimilitude in fictional works about the executive branch, or high-ranking governmental figures.
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Junior Secret Service Program: Assignment 7. Code Names . . 2007-08-18.
- News: Candidate Code Names Secret Service Monikers Used on the Campaign Trail . RSSattr=Politics_4452073 . CBS News . 2008-09-16. 2008-11-12.
- Web site: Obama's Secret Service Code Name Revealed . Eurweb . 2008-09-16 . 2008-11-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090107194453/http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur48530.cfm . 2009-01-07.
- News: Huppke . Rex W. . 2008-11-10 . 'Renegade' joins 'Twinkle,' 'Rawhide,' 'Lancer' on list of Secret Service code names . Chicago Tribune . 2008-11-12.
- Book: One Nation Under Sex: How the Private Lives of Presidents, First Ladies and Their Lovers Changed the Course of American History . 9780230120358 . Flynt . Larry . Larry Flynt . David . Eisenbach . 26 April 2011 .
- Web site: (PBS) FDR transcript. Eleanor Roosevelt hurled herself into the war effort with all the energy that she had brought to the New Deal. During the course of the war, she traveled the world, visiting American soldiers everywhere. The Secret Service gave her the code name "Rover.".
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- Watson, Robert. "Life in the White House: A Social History of the First Family and The President's House". State University of New York Press, 2004, p. 125.
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- News: Here are the Secret Service codenames for Trump, Pence . CNN . 2016-07-27 . 2021-01-28 .
- Web site: How Trump's Eldest Children Have Been Handling the WH Transition. 2017-01-20. ABC News. 2017-01-20.
- Web site: Kamala Harris Secret Service Code Name Revealed. 2020-08-18. Huffington Post.
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- News: Secret Service Speaks Out About Hunter Biden Jail Sentence name. 2024-06-19 . Newsweek . Katherine . Fung . 2024-06-13.
- News: 'Renegade' Joins Race For White House: Obama Is Given Code Name by Secret Service . Washington Post . 2007-06-16 . Anne E. . Kornblut . 2007-06-17.
- News: What's In A Code Name? It's Not Much Of A Secret . January 21, 2013 . Orlando Sentinel . July 17, 1993 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141018121657/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-07-17/news/9307172013_1_tipper-gore-al-gore-vice-president-al . 2014-10-18 . live.
- Web site: Part 3 – By Karenna Gore . 11 November 2008 . . 1997-01-21.
- News: Keyes . Alexa . Top Not-So- Secret Service Codenames . January 21, 2013 . ABC News. March 21, 2012.
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- News: Pengelly . Martin . 2020-08-18 . Kamala Harris reportedly chooses apt Secret Service code name: Pioneer . 2024-07-16 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
- News: The last days of George McGovern?. The Village Voice. November 2, 1972.
- https://www.proquest.com/docview/512041127 Carter character and career analyzed anew
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- News: Texas Next: Can Carter win there? . Spokane Daily Chronicle . April 28, 1980 .
- News: 11 Great Secret Service Code Names . Time . January 28, 2021 .
- News: Duster: Women can do anything . The Southeast Missourian . November 5, 1984 .
- News: Personality Spotlight:John Zaccaro: Husband of Geraldine Ferraro . July 19, 1984 . UPI .
- Web site: The Windsor Star - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. July 14, 2024.
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- Web site: Codename: Scarlett . July 29, 2016 . January 7, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130107043352/http://www.booknotes.org/Watch/8465-1/Jeanne+Simon.aspx . dead .
- Web site: High Season For the Secret Service (Published 1996) . . https://web.archive.org/web/20200930083028/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/27/magazine/high-season-for-the-secret-service.html . 2020-09-30 . live .
- Web site: ON THE SIDELINES . . https://web.archive.org/web/20180812110449/https://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-09-29/features/9609290282_1_joanne-kemp-jack-kemp-bob-dole . August 12, 2018 . live .
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/28/here-are-the-2016-candidates-secret-service-code-names-and-your-own/ The Fix-Here are the 2016 candidates’ Secret Service code names — and your own
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- Web site: Twitter / McCainBlogette: my dad was Phoenix, mom Parasol . Twitter.com . 2012-11-16.
- News: Palin Code Name: 'Denali'. 2008-09-14 . The Washington Post.
- Web site: Ambinder . Marc . Exclusive: GQ Reveals Romney's and Santorum's Secret Service Code Names . GQ . 2012-03-19 . 2012-11-16.
- Web site: Ambinder . Marc . How the Secret Service Said Goodbye to Mitt Romney . GQ . 2012-11-08 . 2012-11-16.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120502195631/http://video.msnbc.msn.com/martin-bashir/47209436#47209436 Martin Bashir Aired on April 27, 2012
- Web site: Ambinder . Marc . Exclusive: GQ Reveals Paul Ryan's Secret Service Code Name! . GQ . 2012-09-04 . 2012-11-16.
- Web site: Anne Holton '80 talks failure, hope and humility at Princeton commmencement. June 4, 2017. Princeton University. July 14, 2024.
- News: Sanders’s Secret Service code name revealed. The Hill. July 14, 2024.
- News: First on CNN: Kamala Harris chooses 'Pioneer' as her Secret Service code name. CNN. August 17, 2020.
- News: JD Vance gets Secret Service code name 'Bobcat,' joins 'Mogul' in bid to take White House . Fox News . 2024-07-26 . 2024-07-26.
- Web site: Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. July 14, 2024.
- News: Stewart. Sara. November 10, 2013. All the president's women. New York Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20211216161903/https://nypost.com/2013/11/10/all-the-presidents-women-3/. 2021-12-16. 2022-02-28.
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- News: The secret service name game: Barack Obama is codenamed 'Renegade' – but what secret service names would you choose for our UK VIPs. Guardian UK. Guardian News and Media Limited 2008 . 2010-05-26 . London . 2008-11-14 . Leo . Hickman.
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- Web site: Top Not-So- Secret Service Codenames . 2023-05-06 . ABC News . en.
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- https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-4e3415b1461f5acefbc8e1fadad0375b The Secret Service is investigating how a man who shot and injured Trump was able to get so close
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