Around the World in 8 Days -- With Donald Rumsfeld

June 12, 2006 — -- You've heard of the military term "0-dark-30" but you hope you never have to experience it. Well it's 12:30 a.m. as I leave home and head to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. ABC News is going to be the pool for all the TV networks on a trip that Mr. Rumsfeld is making to Asia and NATO. We call these VIP Pools. They usually involve the vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense. One TV network takes turns as pool on each of the trips.

I'm excited at the prospect of flying around the world but I know it will be a grueling itinerary. Everyone meets at Andrews AFB at 1:30 a.m We're flying on a military E-4B, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet that can refuel in the air. Once we board the aircraft we know it will be a full 24 hours before we land in Singapore.

Mr. Rumsfeld likes to take this plane on long trips so he doesn't waste time stopping to refuel. The plane is one of the former Cold War airborne command posts capable of directing a nuclear attack. While it sounds pretty sophisticated, inside the plane it actually looks like a relic from the 1970s. The technology is old.

The plane is a little more comfortable than flying coach, but not much. Mr. Rumsfeld gets his own cabin in the front of the plane. Then there's a conference room with voice and video connections to the Pentagon. Next is a small cabin with 21 seats that the news media uses. Only 13 are filled on this trip. The rest of the plane is made up of communications consoles. The secretary's traveling party occupies some of those seats; the aircraft crew uses the rest. In the very back of the plane are seats for more crew members and some bunk beds assigned to the top officials on the trip. The cockpit crew uses the upper deck.

All the food is stored and cooked onboard. It's hearty and good, but nothing special. The flight attendants, all members of the Air Force, are very friendly and helpful. I've brought along eight DVD movies to watch on my laptop.

We have to make one stop along the way to pick up the secretary. Mr. Rumsfeld gave the commencement address the day before at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. We land before dawn and refuel the plane while we wait for him to arrive.

By 8 a.m. Mountain time he's onboard, and we're off to Singapore. Mr. Rumsfeld walks through the plane saying hello to everyone onboard. He remembers my cameraman Hank Brown from previous trips.

The 18-hour flight from Colorado to Singapore is not as bad as I had feared. Between eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, a background briefing on the trip, and two airborne refuelings, there isn't much continuous downtime. I watch a couple of moves and visited the cockpit.

Singapore is 12 hours ahead of Washington, DC. We land at 4 p.m. Singapore time and head straight to the Shangri-La Hotel. We travel in the secretary's motorcade so traffic is halted and we move at a fast pace. The Shangri-La is a luxury hotel and host for the conference on Asian security that Mr. Rumsfeld is attending.

On the way to our rooms, we walk past the lush and inviting tropical swimming pool. I'm glad I packed my swim suit, but I fear it will never leave my suitcase. It doesn't.

For a 73-year-old secretary, Mr. Rumsfeld is in great shape and has a lot of energy. After an 18-hour flight, he goes right to work and holds a news conference with the traveling press corps. He wants to talk about the Asia conference. We want to talk about Iraq. The story about the alleged misconduct of Marines in Haditha is topping the news at home. I ask Mr. Rumsfeld whether he can assure the American people that any evidence gathered in the investigations will be made public. He's annoyed at the question but answers it anyway. His response makes it on the evening news in the United States.

Our local stringer in Singapore helps me feed the videotapes to London where they are distributed to the other TV networks. The only opportunity I have to actually see Singapore is riding in the car to and from the feed point. Singapore looks lovely. It is very modern, clean and safe. Remember, they cane people here. They don't even want you to chew gum.