[citation needed] His family left Texas for California when he was 4 years old, living briefly in public housing in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles before moving to the suburb of Whittier.

[1] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, then served on active duty from 1978 to 1983, mostly at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Before finishing his third term in the Assembly, Caldera resigned to begin serving as managing director and chief operating officer for President Bill Clinton's Corporation for National and Community Service (1997–1998), a domestic volunteer program.

[13] The mission "was set up to create an iconic shot of Air Force One, similar to one that was taken in recent years over the Grand Canyon.

New York City police stated that "federal authorities" told them not to disclose information about the fly-over to the public in advance.

Like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President Obama only learned of the incident after the disturbance it caused was already being reported by journalists, bloggers, websites and news outlets.

[14] White House officials said President Obama was fuming mad and did not see the need for a new Air Force One publicity photo anyway.

[15] Mayor Bloomberg condemned the low flyover and the failure to provide public notice, saying he himself had not been adequately notified, that he was "furious", and that it showed "poor judgment".

[16] Senator John McCain stated the flyover photo op was "a fundamentally unsound exercise in military judgment and may have constituted an inappropriate use of Department of Defense resources."

After meeting with White House officials Caldera issued a public apology for the incident, stating: "Last week, I approved a mission over New York.

"[15] Following an investigation into how the decision to conduct the flight had been reached, directed by Deputy White House Chief of Staff Jim Messina, Caldera announced his resignation on May 8, 2009, effective May 22, 2009.