50th Anniversary of the Situation Room

To mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the White House Situation Room, today the President delivered remarks to the Situation Room staff to thank them for their around-the-clock work to keep the President informed and the country safe.

“We could not meet the national security challenges that we face without the capabilities of this room and the people who work here,” the President said.

The president called the staffers the “eyes and ears" of the President that provides the latest information and alerts. "It’s the nerve center for the U.S. government, the place where we come together to make policy and respond to crises from wars abroad to floods at home.”

The President also presided over a ceremony to name a secure conference room after the father of the Situation Room, President John F. Kennedy.

President Obama with advisers in the Situation Room viewing bin Laden capture.

In attendance with the president at the ceremony were Caroline Kennedy, John "Jack" Schlossberg, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan, and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and several other former national security advisers.

Neither the Vice President, nor Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were said to have been in attendance at the ceremony.