Bush’s Texas Ranch Had Military Air Protection
George W. Bush’s ranch near Crawford, Texas, offers a comparison.
In December 2007, the Air Force deployed seven fighter jets and 113 airmen to Fort Hood to protect Bush during his Christmas vacation. The aircraft monitored a 30-mile radius around the ranch under Operation Noble Eagle, the military’s homeland defense mission established after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The military has a long history of providing extensive air defense protection at private presidential retreats, although there is no public documentation indication that ground-based missile systems were stationed at Bush’s ranch.
Avenger systems themselves have an established domestic mission. The Army National Guard has used Avengers, Stinger missiles and radar systems to defend Washington, D.C., airspace.
Their appearance near Mar-a-Lago therefore represents an application of existing military capabilities rather than an entirely new homeland defense mission.