Oregon presidential retreat

The Oregon presidential retreat was a country retreat located near Lake Oswego, Oregon and used by President David Palmer. The retreat was within close proximity of the Northwest Regional Operations Complex, where President Palmer operated throughout most of Day 2.

The estate's grounds were characterized by extensive landscaping and several outbuildings. The main lodge of the retreat included a medium-sized den, a conference hall, offices, waiting rooms, and living quarters.

Day 2

During his day off, President Palmer was fishing with his son, Keith, at Lake Oswego. However, their trip was cut short when Palmer was notified of an impending national security threat. Keith headed back to the retreat while Palmer was moved to the OC to be briefed on the situation. ("8:00am-9:00am")

David Palmer meets with Ron Wieland

Outside the main lodge, Palmer was addressing members of the press who were curious as to why he cut his fishing trip short. Later that hour, he met with journalist Ron Wieland and asked him to refrain from going public about a potential terrorist threat. Although Wieland said he would consider it, Palmer had him escorted to a holding room outside the OC where he was detained indefinitely. ("9:00am-10:00am")

Palmer, along with his advisor Lynne Kresge and NSA Director Roger Stanton, would later meet with an ambassador and a high-ranking security officer from Afghanistan, where terrorist cell Second Wave was known to operate. Shareef expressed his country's desire in stopping Second Wave and proposed a mutual exchange of intelligence. Palmer said he would consider their proposal and had them escorted to a waiting room while he made his decision. Later that hour, the helicopter carrying Shareef and Farhad Salim crashed just outside of the retreat in an apparent accident, killing everyone on board. ("12:00pm-1:00pm")

Sherry Palmer arrived at the retreat and warned her ex-husband of a conspiracy inside his administration; she offered her assistance in finding out who was involved. David acquiesced, setting up a private line in a conference room so she could make some calls. ("1:00pm-2:00pm")

David Palmer in a meeting with his staff

President Palmer's chief of staff, Mike Novick, arrived at the retreat and met with the president and Lynne Kresge in a conference room. Kresge informed Palmer that Ron Wieland's production crew had been searching for him. Novick suggested that they leak a story about Wieland going to Portland for the rest of the day on a personal matter. Palmer agreed to this and authorized Secret Service agent Richard Armus to put it into motion. Later that hour, the three would convene again with Sherry Palmer and discuss a potential conspiracy in the administration and Roger Stanton's involvement in it.

Mike and Sherry in the conference room

After the meeting adjourned, Sherry confronted Lynne about her discomfort with Sherry's being at the retreat. She reminded Lynne of her role in bringing David to office and told her that she deserved her respect. David then approached Sherry and told her that, despite constant requests from his advisors, he would not send her away. When Sherry asked him why, he said it was because she "may be able to get information that nobody else can." ("2:00pm-3:00pm")

When Sherry learned that one of Ron Wieland's co-workers was asking for his current whereabouts, she asked David if he had detained him. David implicitly confirmed this, and Sherry offered to try to persuade Wieland to recant. David allowed her to do so, but she would later return to the retreat and tell him that she was unsuccessful. The president then dismissed her, but Sherry convinced him to let her stay at the retreat so she could continue to assist him. ("3:00pm-4:00pm")

President Palmer at his desk

Later that hour, Ron Wieland managed to escape from custody just ten minutes after Sherry spoke with him. David asked her if she had anything to do with it, but would later apologize when Mike Novick discovered that it was Richard Armus who freed him.

Wieland had gone public with the terrorist threat as well as the president's having him detained, so Palmer was forced to give a response and had Lynne draft up a speech. Sherry got ahold of a copy of the speech from Jenny Dodge and—unhappy with it—made several changes. She then presented her revision to Lynne, telling her that, for David's sake, she would need to look at her changes.

Meanwhile, Jack Bauer was being held hostage by Nina Myers, who offered to give up the location of terrorist mastermind Syed Ali in exchange for being pardoned—in advance—for murdering Bauer. The president agreed to her terms, but secretly authorized a TAC team to neutralize Myers before she could kill Bauer. Lynne then gave Palmer the final draft of her speech (which incorporated Sherry's changes), which he said was an improvement. ("4:00pm-5:00pm", "5:00pm-6:00pm")

David Palmer takes a call

Outside, the president was addressing the press on Wieland's allegations; he confirmed that there was a terrorist threat against the United States, but said there was no need for alarm. Later that hour, Jack Bauer called Palmer and told him that he had been attacked by Coral Snake, a special operations unit funded by the NSA.

Palmer would then meet with the agency's director, Roger Stanton, and ask about it. Stanton denied knowing of such a unit, which made Palmer suspect that he was hiding something. He tasked Sherry and Novick with looking for a connection between Stanton and the unit's commander, Colonel Ron Samuels.

Sherry learned that Stanton had issued an eyes only order to have NSA resurrect OPCOM, an old backchannel communications network used by the CIA, and used it to communicate with Colonel Samuels. Palmer then had Novick contact the attorney general and file for an arrest warrant. But Sherry, in league with Stanton, called him and warned of his imminent arrest. ("5:00pm-6:00pm")

President Palmer recruits Agent Simmons

Sherry called Lynne and then her ex-husband from the retreat, both times asking for the status on Roger Stanton. Unable to get Stanton to talk, President Palmer met with Secret Service agent Ted Simmons at a pond outside the retreat, and inquired about his background in covert operations with the CIA. Palmer then requested him to "extract information" from Stanton, and permitted him to do whatever it took to get him to talk. ("6:00pm-7:00pm")

President Palmer orders his ex-wife to leave

After being tortured for over an hour, Stanton broke, revealing to President Palmer that Sherry was involved in his conspiracy. Palmer once again confronted her, and Sherry admitted that Stanton recruited her into a plot to undermine the administration. However, she said that she was actually working with Steve Hillenburg of the CIA to build a case against Stanton. David and Sherry then held a video conference with Hillenburg, who was willing to disclose proof of the fact. After the conference was over, Palmer had his ex-wife escorted off the retreat, saying that he had neither the time nor energy to figure out if he could trust her. ("8:00pm-9:00pm", "9:00pm-10:00pm")

Background information and notes

• The exterior of the retreat was filmed at the Pierce College campus at Woodland Hills, while the interior was shot on a set built in the show's studio. See Season 2 filming locations for more information.

See also

• Lake Oswego
• Northwest Regional Operations Complex