The organization was created to provide secure normal, secret, and emergency communications requirements supporting the president.

The organization provided mobile radio, Teletype, telegraph, telephone and cryptographic aides in the White House and at "Shangri-La" (now known as Camp David).

Richard Nixon awarded the agency the Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of their performance during his 1972 visit to China.

[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The White House Communications Agency is composed of Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps personnel.

The agency evolved over the past 60 years from a small team of 32 personnel working out of the basement of the White House to a thousand-person self-supporting joint service command.