who was in when 9/11 happened?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - who was in when 9/11 happened? (Page 1 of 3)

Posted: 3/6/2016 3:49:02 PM EDT

What was it like on that morning? What happened when you heard the news? Was there a general understanding that it was the beginning of a war?

Thanks for your input

Posted: 3/6/2016 10:48:31 PM EDT

[#1]

I was one week in AF basic training getting my ID card and SGLI (insurance documents signed) as it happened. I remember listening to the admin clerks FM radio and hearing the mass confusion about car bombings, suspicious vehicles etc in the DC area. They eventually herded everyone in a back room and turned on Fox news and let us watch the evens unfold. Lackland AFB was a ghost town (due to a Shelter-in-place order) when they finally allowed us to leave the building and return to the BMT dorms on the other side of the base. It was surreal to say the least. I do remember seeing the base Security Forces beef up the security posture at the gate with armed Humvees w/M60's and blocking off streets/gates. That's when it set it. We weren't allowed outside for at least a day or two, except for medical appointments, chow hall and other essential services.

Posted: 3/6/2016 10:54:12 PM EDT

[#2]

As soon as the second plane hit, it was pretty clear the world was going to war.

Posted: 3/7/2016 12:43:39 AM EDT

[#3]

Josh is right and we started prepping that day.

Posted: 3/7/2016 12:49:24 AM EDT

[#4]

We immediately went to Threatcon Delta after the second plane hit, and my PSG called me and told me to gather the squad.

We knew we were going to war. I had just graduated PLDC, and my effective date of rank for Sergeant is 11SEP2001. I didn't pin until the 13th

Posted: 3/7/2016 11:05:39 AM EDT

[#5]

Yep, what Josh said.

Posted: 3/8/2016 1:43:47 AM EDT

[#6]

I just finished telling a group of Marines (8 or so) that at least one of them would see action.

I think we all understood pretty quickly that the war (Khobar Towers, USS Cole, etc.) had taken a turn.

Unforgettable.

Posted: 3/8/2016 3:51:58 PM EDT

[#7]

I was on block leave after a deployment to Kuwait while at Fort Hood. Got a call that morning to turn on the TV and don't try to come on post.

Posted: 3/8/2016 11:28:32 PM EDT

[#8]

We all got a phone call to be on stand by for orders then a couple days later convoyed to New York City to help recovery efforts ( national guard) stopped at camp smith ( near West Point ) and they inspected us and informed us ( after the biggest attack on the homeland since Pearl Harbor ) we had to leave all weapons there because they did not want the military presence to be too threatening to the populace! wTF!
Stayed in nyc for about a month. Ironically I was working at the VA at the time and they gave me a hard time about leaving without supplying them a copy of my orders which we did not get until some time later.
People ( not so much these days) used to rag on the guard but I was amazed how 90+% of our troops showed up at the armory with all gear ready to go before we were even told to. Some guys who were slackers who awol'd drills even showed up.
After that we did a year of noble eagle ( guarding the large number of up to that point "open" posts that had essentially no security plan I. Place.
Most of us ended up doing multiple Afghanistan and Iraq deployments.
I retired in 09 but some of the younger guys now have five or more deployments now

Posted: 3/9/2016 11:52:10 AM EDT

[#9]

Day off from work
Took the wife to breakfast and dropped her off to work
Went home and watched the thing unfold on the TV
Got the call from the armory a few hours later
No one really knew what we were in for in the long haul.

Posted: 3/13/2016 10:19:23 PM EDT

[#10]

I called my wife and told her I would be leaving for a few weeks, she said I would be gone at least a year...she was right......TF DAGGER!

Posted: 3/13/2016 10:22:23 PM EDT

[#11]

After the second plane you knew. You also knew there was no choice but to go.

Posted: 3/13/2016 10:23:07 PM EDT

[#12]

Didn't we do this thread already ? I remember replying in a similar one

Posted: 3/13/2016 10:31:06 PM EDT

[#13]

They closed the borders, and I was on the wrong side of it.

Posted: 3/15/2016 5:47:28 PM EDT

[#14]

I was at Fort Campbell that morning. We had a 0900 EO class. While we were in class, the command was getting briefings and drawing up plans. As the class ended, we were ordered to go to the barracks, don our full battle rattle, and report to the arms room. There, we drew weapons and ammo and got our assignments. I spent the day as the NCOIC of a four man guard force watching the 101st DivArty fuel point. By the end of the day, Fort Campbell was very well protected. We had armed Kiowa Warriors and Apaches flying over post and up-armored HMMWV's with TOW's, Mk19's, and M2HB's guarding every major intersection, especially near the gates. By Thanksgiving, parts of my battery were already in Pakistan and I joined them in Afghanistan by the end of January.

Posted: 3/16/2016 5:25:27 PM EDT

[#15]

I was on duty. Commcenter at HQ AIA

Posted: 3/24/2016 1:43:45 AM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:

As soon as the second plane hit, it was pretty clear the world was going to war.

View Quote

This

I was a Infantry Drill SGT and we just picked up a class, they thought we were BSing

them until I pulled out the TV and had them watch the CNN recap.

I then told them our country was at war, the look on their young faces was unforgettable.

Posted: 3/26/2016 10:57:56 PM EDT

[#17]

At work doing my job. Watched it on the TV at base hazmat. told them I'm gonna need a lot more hyd fluid.

I knew our KC-130's were going to get a lot more hours on them soon.

Posted: 3/29/2016 9:12:38 PM EDT

[#18]

I was dragging my bags through a Fayettenam hotel on my way to the airport, going home to Fort Hood after reporting the results of a TDY to Colombia, when I noticed the crowd around the tv in the lobby. As a guy was explaining that an airplane had hit one of the towers, the second plane hit on the screen. I just went back to the front desk and checked back in, I knew I wasn't going anywhere for a while...

Posted: 4/7/2016 10:17:16 AM EDT

[#19]

I was stationed at NAS Mayport in HSL-44 (Anti-submarine helicopter squadron) at the time. We were scheduled to depart that day for Vieques for live fire missions with the Kennedy battlegroup. We were assigned to the USS Underwood.

I was at the HSL-42 ARO (break room that sells food) and they had the TV on which was showing the first WTC burning after the first plane hit it. I remember saying "How bad of a pilot do you have to be to hit that big ass building". The room was quiet. When the second plane came in on live TV and hit the second tower pretty much all hell broke loose in the ARO. It was pretty obvious it was an attack.

The base went on immediate lockdown and everyone had 15 mins to move their vehicles away from the buildings or they would be towed. After the 15mins only tow and base security vehicles would be authorized movement.

Any of the squadrons helo's that were down and could not fly were immediately brought into the hangars. If they could fly they were sent to various other places in Florida to spread them out.

We found out that our ship, loaded with it's full complement of live ordnance due to our now canceled Vieques trip, was now headed North with the USS George Washington and other USS Kennedy battlegroup ships to secure the airspace and waters off the coast of Washington DC and all the other harbors on the eastern seaboard. Now called "Operation Noble Eagle"

We had to get special permission to leave the squadron and go to our ship in the harbor. We left shortly after the Pentagon was hit and we went quickly to the North with no idea what else was going on. Our helo's landed onboard and we loaded one down with the GAU-16 and 4 AGM-114 HELLFIRE missiles and sent her back up. They had orders to shoot down anything that was not squawking MODE 4 (coded military aircraft ID that changes daily).

We sat off the coast of Washington DC for about 1 week flying around the clock with fully armed Seahawks.

A few months later we were in the NAG supporting SEAL teams as they boarded all ships coming out the Tigris.

Here is a picture of the USS G. Washington off the coast of NYC. You can see the smoke from the WTC on the horizon.

The now decommissioned FFG-36 USS Underwood

Our SH-60B Seahawk helo during Operation Iraqi Freedom in the NAG.

Posted: 4/7/2016 10:26:22 AM EDT

[#20]

September 11th 2001, I had been at JRTC for a few weeks doing battle drills and such in preparation for our upcoming deployment to Kosovo. We had just finished some sort of training exercise and was just chilling sweating my dick off when it was announced that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Our first thought was that it was part of a training exercise and we were about to doing some more bullshit after we had just taken a break.

Turns out, they were not shitting us and we all gathered around a tiny TV in our circus tent and watched for a few hours in disbelief. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go to Afghanistan as we had orders for a peacekeeping mission and 4-31 Infantry (the battalion next door to us) were tasked with kitting up and jumping on a plane. I believe they were on the ground in late September but I honestly can't remember right now.

Posted: 4/14/2016 8:40:55 PM EDT

[#21]

After 11 years active I had gotten out and then later got in the reserve with an IRR assignment to USSOCCENT. I was running my ranch and doing about six months of reserve duty a year (doing counter narcotics tours, JTF-6). In 2001 I was finishing up a counter narcotics tour assigned to the US Border Patrol. My tour of duty was supposed to end Sept 22, 2001... I went into the office at 6am most mornings and my office was right across from the BP Sector Chief's Office. I remember him yelling from across the hall "Get in here and watch this shit!" He had a big screen TV in his office. I got there in time to see the second aircraft slam into the WTC live. Since I had worked intelligence for the middle east/Central Asia..I had no doubt what was going on. I then got Presidential Recall orders the week I got home. They faxed them to my local little Montana bank. I was supposed to report to SOCCENT at MacDill AFB in Tampa.

All the airports were closed then and I drove my diesel Ford ranch truck from Montana to Florida. I forward deployed to our rear HQ at Camp Asaliyah Qatar by November 01 and then later to Afghanistan. Fun times..

Posted: 4/14/2016 9:09:03 PM EDT

[#22]

I was in, but had not yet shipped to IET. It is a hard feeling to describe... I knew I was going to war but didn't realize that I'd be overseas only 24 months later.

Posted: 4/21/2016 11:00:18 PM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:
I was at Fort Campbell that morning. We had a 0900 EO class. While we were in class, the command was getting briefings and drawing up plans. As the class ended, we were ordered to go to the barracks, don our full battle rattle, and report to the arms room. There, we drew weapons and ammo and got our assignments. I spent the day as the NCOIC of a four man guard force watching the 101st DivArty fuel point. By the end of the day, Fort Campbell was very well protected. We had armed Kiowa Warriors and Apaches flying over post and up-armored HMMWV's with TOW's, Mk19's, and M2HB's guarding every major intersection, especially near the gates. By Thanksgiving, parts of my battery were already in Pakistan and I joined them in Afghanistan by the end of January.

View Quote

I was the 101st G2 ACE NCOC - Intelligence - and was having breakfast at the post's Burger King, after doing morning PT.

I hear about the first plane hitting the WTC tower and assumed they were talking about a small / tourist aircraft. I watched as the second plane struck on live TV. Jumped into my car and sped to the post SCIF, where we worked. We all watched the live feed, and to this very day I can't erase the memory of watching these people jumping from so damned high up to their deaths.

My boss and I immediately released nearly half of our troops to go home and sleep, as we were now shifting into 24-hour operations.

We sent a few of our Soldiers to assist in stringing razor wire around the battalion headquarters and troop barracks. We were tasked to guard Fort Campbell's water treatment plant, which had to balance between barracks security and our duties to the division G2. We were immediately tasked towards the suspected threat, which we pretty much assumed originated from the Mid-East (although nobody wanted to jump the gun - as happened immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing).

Armed Kiowa's flying the perimeter of Fort Campbell.

Soldiers in full kit manning crew-served weapons on the grounds of the schools on post.

Parked on Fort Campbell Boulevard, waiting to enter Fort Campbell through its only one functioning gate - the others were closed and secured.

Posted: 4/22/2016 11:39:37 PM EDT

[#24]

I was at the shoppette on Butner road, fort bragg picking up some coffee on my way to work at the PMO.

Air Assault School started a few days later which I thought for sure the 101st MTT was gonna cancel but thankfully it didnt.

We ended up flying up to West Point and pulling security for all the home football games during that season and the next. Those were no-shit good times. During one trip a few of us take the train into the city and went and saw groundzero. The train was free while in uniform.

Posted: 4/23/2016 9:38:20 AM EDT

[#25]

I was in Alaska, stationed at Ft. Wainwright......moose hunting. It was like 2 or 3 days later when we got back to my house and started unpacking our gear. I went inside the house to grab 3 beers and I noticed the red light on the phone was on indicating I had a message. Now normally it blinks once for 1 message and 2 times for 2 messages and so on. It was on but not flashing. So I hit the button to put it on speaker and then hit the message button. Message after message someone (my NCOIC, my Platoon leader, the detachment commander, the 1SGT, etc) was franticly asking where I was and to call in or come in, but nobody said exactly what was wrong. So, I called the orderly room and the 1st shirt answers "Chief, where the hell have you been!" I said "Top, you and everyone else knew I was on leave moose hunting and if you needed me so bad, you all had a grid coordinate where we were." The 1SGT then said the muslims had hijacked planes and flew them into the twin towers and the pentagon. I laughed and said "OK what the fuck is really going on." "He says if you don't believe me turn on the tube," so I did. About that time both of the hunting partners came inside to find out why I hadn't returned with the beers. We all just stared at the tube, taking it all in. We had to wait 3 days before the airport opened so my friends could fly home. On a humorous side note, a week or so before 9-11, myself and one of my 2 hunting partners went to the airport to put up the other guy. When we passed through the metal detector, it went off when my friend went threw. A little old lady with white hair comes over with a handheld detector and slides it all over him. It beeps when it goes over his coat pocket. He reached in and pulls out a 375 H&H Magnum cartridge that he forgot was there. The little old lady pats his hand and says, "That's OK sweetheart, you can pick that up when you leave!"

Posted: 4/29/2016 1:44:27 PM EDT

[#26]

I was ANG and was at work waiting on my separation paperwork and a contract to go overseas. The contract kept getting pushed back and I was getting worried. Two months later my phone rang and I was cut orders to involuntarily be deployed. I knew it was going to happen and some of the dickheads @ the job were talking shit to me the entire two months. Two weeks later I was gone. No contract for me for "not to exceed 365 days'.

Posted: 4/29/2016 6:02:39 PM EDT

[#27]

My Guard unit was put on Title 10 orders September 4th for a tour in Bosnia, and we went to Ft Dix for mobilization. I was in line at CIF getting cold weather gear and other crap I didn't need when the first plane hit. It got kind of surreal after that, with rumors flying hot and heavy about what we were going to do and where we'd end up, but the deployment went as scheduled.

We got orders for the GWOTSM a couple of years later for our deployment. I guess someone thought keeping the Bosnian Muslims safe was supporting the GWOT.

Posted: 4/29/2016 6:30:17 PM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:
I called my wife and told her I would be leaving for a few weeks, she said I would be gone at least a year...she was right......TF DAGGER!

View Quote

Posted: 5/7/2016 9:17:10 PM EDT

[#29]

Some of the best leadership I have in the Army had already been in for a while and were apparently pumped to get to going.

Most of the notably terrible leadership I had was either in Basic on 9/11, or ran for the recruiting hills ASAP.

It must have been exciting either way.

Posted: 5/9/2016 5:18:57 PM EDT

[#30]

I was in for a grand total of 10 hours when the first tower got hit, the SHTF big time for us that day in Boot Camp

Posted: 5/10/2016 10:36:38 PM EDT

[#31]

Was at work at 0600 CDT, got a call @ 0800 from the wife. Knew the SHTF.
Went to drill on 13 Sep, apparently was mobed on the 12th.
Flew out the 14th. Not a good Valentines Day.

Posted: 5/14/2016 8:56:34 PM EDT

[#32]

I was under way on the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, on watch in CIC (former RD). We were in the Pacific Ocean, well off of Mazatlan, on the way to an anti-drug patrol. We heard a lot of chatter on the radio, but hadn't paid much attention until we got a call to us. They upped our Threatcon and Defcon with no explanation; just replied roger out.

We loaded up our guns (hey, the Coast Guard has a few!) and started steaming back north as fast as we could. A little later that morning chatter had let us know that a plane had hit, but we had no idea of what was going on. Back then we didn't have a lot of underway connectivity.

We soon learned that there had been attack. Those with ties to NYC were allowed to try and make contact. It wasn't until awhile later when we came in range of broadcast TV coming out of San Diego that we learned the true scale of the events and saw the replays.

It was a wild few days, and I'm proud to say I was lucky enough to be on duty, taking the call. No, we didn't stop anything. We didn't shoot any terrorist in the face, but the Coast Guard did amazing things that day, and I got to be apart of it.

Posted: 5/23/2016 1:11:49 AM EDT

[#33]

I was in the 1SG and Commander course in Grafenwohr Germany. Soldier came rushing in and announced the attack. Had to wait until lunch break to catch the news, then back to class. All of Germany was on DEFCON4 alert and all bases were on lock down. Soldiers were patrolling on base housing if full battle rattle for weeks.

Posted: 6/10/2016 8:07:17 PM EDT

[#34]

I was in when 11/79 happened. In fact I was close by.

Posted: 6/12/2016 3:25:08 PM EDT

[#35]

Quote History

Quoted:
We immediately went to Threatcon Delta after the second plane hit, and my PSG called me and told me to gather the squad.

We knew we were going to war. I had just graduated PLDC, and my effective date of rank for Sergeant is 11SEP2001. I didn't pin until the 13th

View Quote

damn. that got pretty real pretty fast...

Posted: 6/18/2016 4:16:26 PM EDT

[#36]

I was on the USS Enterprise. We had left the Gulf a few days before and were headed to South Africa for a post call. We were going to cross the equator and do the shell backing thing on the 12th.right after the second plane hit that we had started to turned back north at top speed. I was eating dinner when the first plane hit and headed back to my office just in time to watch the second plane hit. The CO made an announcement on the 1MC and told us we were heading back to the gulf. The 2 week wait before we started bombing sucked. Everyone was itching to go.

Posted: 6/19/2016 11:15:20 PM EDT

[#37]

I was 3 years in the Navy at that point, on my Submarine, the USS Miami SSN755, in dry dock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

As a nuke mechanic, I was tearing into a piece of machinary in the engine room when the first plane hit. They made an announcment, and the entire crew gathered on the barge that they had set up for us to watch the rest of the day unfold.

A few years later, in 2003, we deployed to help start the Iraq war.

Posted: 6/27/2016 10:37:42 PM EDT

[#38]

I knew even prior to September

earlier that year we had "Operation Paint The Fleet" where all our brand new trucks that had brand new woodland camo paint got resprayed desert tan

Posted: 7/3/2016 7:20:42 PM EDT

[#39]

I was stationed out in California when it happened - I thought it was a horrible joke on the part of the radio guys (It was early and I had a hell of a commute). By the time I got to work, folks were glued to the clinic TV's. All I did was call the wife and let her know what was happening and I may not be home any time soon. We started deploying our corpsman to the Marines pretty soon after that. We just figured that we were at war with "someone" - not my job to decide when or where, but we were definitely ready to go.

Posted: 7/4/2016 2:20:59 AM EDT

[#40]

Was Active Duty (Air Force Sec. Forces) up in Ft Dix doing training. Initially we all thought it was part of the exercise since it was a 10 day training course. We laughed and made a few jokes because none of us thought it was real when we were told the news and ThreatCon. We were quickly told to rally up and we were told the exercise was canceled and training was being postponed. Shit got very serious very quickly. My battle buddy who im still good friends with was from Queens, was very upset because that was hometown USA for him. We all packed our gear up and came back to Dover AFB in the next couple days. Security beefed up, and many new deployments came out of that base. We were augmented by some Army ANG guys, who were some great people for the next 2 1/2 years.

Im still in however went reserves and cross-trained.

Posted: 7/4/2016 12:00:14 PM EDT

[#41]

Stationed at NORAD/J5, Peterson AFB, Colorado. I was the space & missile warning systems requirements and acquisitions guy. Been there all of six weeks.

As I was getting ready for work (0645 MDT), I had the news on the TV in the background, as was my habit. So heard about the first plane, then saw the second hit live.

Had an 0800 meeting in the Air Force Space Command building, so I went there instead of my office first. Meeting was canceled 10 minutes after it was supposed to start, but then they wouldn't let us leave (base in lockdown).

About 1100 they sent all non-essentials home. Since no one was going to do an emergency buy of a strategic missile-warning system, I was one of those.

Spent three days at home, then they called me into the NORAD Battle Staff inside Cheyenne Mountain for the next three months, 3 on, 3 off, 12 hr shifts, doing strategy stuff--coordinating the placement of airborne assets to cover high-visibility events (Winter Olympics in Utah, Superbowl) and high-value targets (Presidential schedule), and especially finding and placing AWACS-type aircraft to cover the US. (I was one of the primary authors of the request to use NATO AWACS under Article 5 of the treaty). Also, you know how when you fly into Reagan National in DC, you have to follow the river? Had a hand in that, amongst other things.

Posted: 7/6/2016 1:52:12 PM EDT

[#42]

I was in Great Mistakes, 2nd day of Basic...shit got real, real fast.

Posted: 7/7/2016 9:17:50 PM EDT

[#43]

Quote History

Quoted:
I called my wife and told her I would be leaving for a few weeks, she said I would be gone at least a year...she was right......TF DAGGER!

View Quote

I know Dagger....Had lunch with Col Mulholland at Bagram in March 02.

Posted: 7/12/2016 10:17:49 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:
What was it like on that morning? What happened when you heard the news? Was there a general understanding that it was the beginning of a war?

Thanks for your input

View Quote

It was a rare morning that I didn't watch the news as I got dressed for work. I was going to come in early and work out, but when I got to the office, I was told to go home and put on my Class B's and come back. When I asked why, I was told that terrorists had crashed planes into the World Trade Center. I was in California, so it was all done by 8am Pacific Time Zone. I was an ROTC instructor back then, and the university had a whole emergency management manual that had roles for everyone on campus to play. As the battalion XO, my job was to attach myself to the Dean of Students and be his advisor and liaison to law enforcement/military/emergency services.

Things calmed down by that afternoon. It turns out that the university had no students or faculty in the Towers, on the planes, or in the Pentagon.

I figured that the US would do a punitive raid, take out Al Qaeda, and come home in six months. Then, later that week, when the Taliban would not give up Al Qaeda, we'd take a year, smash the Taliban, and hand the country over to the Northern Alliance.

Either way, the drift, decline, and aimlessness of military life in the Clinton era was over. The miasma of the 90s threatened to go on and on. But on 9-11, the 90s ended for real. I had hoped for 4 years of peace and military rebuilding under Bush II, but on that day, I knew it would be a replay of Korea.

Never thought we'd get into a 6 year war in Iraq.

I had heard the term "homeland" and "homeland security," but didn't think that it would turn into the "burning of the Reichstag" moment that it did.

Posted: 7/13/2016 7:13:25 PM EDT

[#45]

Quote History

Quoted:

Never thought we'd get into a 6 year war in Iraq.

I had heard the term "homeland" and "homeland security," but didn't think that it would turn into the "burning of the Reichstag" moment that it did.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Never thought we'd get into a 6 year war in Iraq.

I had heard the term "homeland" and "homeland security," but didn't think that it would turn into the "burning of the Reichstag" moment that it did.

Interesting. I had exactly the opposite reaction.

On 20 Sep 2001, President Bush gave a speech before a joint session of Congress where he attributed the attack to Al Qaeda and laid out the terms for the Taliban to turn over USL and all member of AQ or suffer for it. We watched it live.

In that speech, he spoke the following line:

Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there.

It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.

I remember turning to my wife and saying, "He just declared World War III."

Posted: 7/21/2016 9:25:59 PM EDT

[#46]

Quote History

20 Sep 2001, President Bush gave a speech before a joint session of Congress where he attributed the attack to Al Qaeda and laid out the terms for the Taliban to turn over USL and all member of AQ or suffer for it. We watched it live.

In that speech, he spoke the following line:

Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there.

It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.

View Quote

I remember this speach. I remember where I was on 9-11 (over seas, and I won't bore you with the details).

and then a few months later I was flying support missions as we launched Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan... One of my first missions in that AOR was in support of that major operation (prior we had focused on the Balkans and the eastern Med).... I was the downer in the brief as everyone was cheering like it was a high school pep ralley... when I was (one of the senior officers in the room) called out for being the only solemn face not saying "sis boom bah" by the briefer... I said... slowly, calmly, and morbidly, "I just read this brief as "If you take Afghan regulars and substitute South Vietnam Regulars, and Viet Cong for Taliban and their loyal tribesman, then I wonder how successful this entire war will be, and how much american blood it will cost.... if you do that, then maybe you'd have my perspective: a lot of good Americans, Special forces. and regular army are going to try to do a lot of good things, but I suspect a lot of good Americans are going to die... so lets keep perspective and fight a good fight... and see where when this operation ends we as a nation remain" I killed the mood, but I didn't really understand how right I was until I read "Not a Good Day to Die" many years later.. and then see the vacuum left by the Obama Administration and the perilous state of Afghanistan now.

Supporting that operation was the one and only time I got shot at as an American military pilot. And with so many others dieing those days, I never put myself in for the air medal I earned on paper. I didn't even put getting shot at in my eval covering that period. So many others gave so much more. And on paper, as far as a fact checker would say, I never was shot at... but it happened.

Posted: 7/25/2016 1:14:26 PM EDT

[#47]

Quote History

Quoted:
As soon as the second plane hit, it was pretty clear the world was going to war.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:
As soon as the second plane hit, it was pretty clear the world was going to war.

Quoted:
Josh is right and we started prepping that day.

Yep and yep.

I was walking from my BN CP to our armory, two other Marines went running past in the opposite direction and said something like "Hey Sir, did you hear a plane just crashed into the WTC?" A few months prior, some sports celeb had crashed his light plane into a high rise in NYC, and I just assumed it was something else like that. By the time I was done in the armory and made it back to the CP, the entire BN staff was in the conference room watching CNN. I walked in just in time to see plane number two crash into the other tower.

Posted: 4/22/2017 8:18:57 AM EDT

[#48]

I was on a regular deployment work with the RAF in Darwin, Australia. It was our last day there and everyone was out at the bars. It .ust have been around midnight or so when the shore patrol came in and told everyone to return to the boats. I would say half the people got up and left, the other half stayed and kept having a good time. Then about 20 minutes later they came back and said that we have to get back now. They never said why either time. So as we were all leaving the bars going to look fer a taxi, i remember seeing the towers on fire and falling on a tv that was in a window. At that point, we all started running back. As soon we returned, we were told what was going on, and that we werent allowed to send any letters or emails till further notice. From there, we headed straight towards the gulf and stayed there for 4 months, bombing the crap out of them. Got to see the first tomahawk missiles launched as well. I will definitely never forget that deployment.

Posted: 4/22/2017 9:23:54 AM EDT

[#49]

I was working at Venice Flying Service, Huffman Aviation's MX department.
Watched the events unfold on a small Tv in the office in our hangar rented out to Sarasota County Sheriff's office, who's Air1 unit was dispatched to fly to Sarasota airport, and somehow disable any airborne threats to Airforce 1. All with an unarmed Jetranger.

Next morning the FBI has raided the flight school, taking all computers, files etc.
Once the news broke the two main terrorists had trained at our school, the media circus began. News trucks lined both sides of the street for weeks, the phone rang off the hook from people calling to threaten us and blame us for what happened.

Posted: 4/22/2017 9:40:32 AM EDT

[#50]

in what?

in bed? in the shower? in the rain? in labor?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - who was in when 9/11 happened? (Page 1 of 3)

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