Where were you during 9/11? What has changed in 20 years?

I was in the service well, sort of. Terminal Leave before retirement! I was in the Mountains of Montana with some High School Buddies doing a camping trip. That morning we came out of the Mountains Loaded op the Canoes and camping gear in the Pickups, turned on the Radio, aand low and behold "SHIT"!!!!!!! I had my friend drive me to the National Guard base to a DSN line and called back to my unit to see if I was recalled. Didn't get recalled but didn't get back for and extra week or so because of the flying situation!

I watched it in my room before PT at Schofoeld Barracks, HI. I was a PFC and we we just returned from the Sinai tour in Egypt in July. 2 months later 9/11. The crappy part was, we were relieved over there by 10th MTN New York. They were pissed, they got put on lock down the whole time. I felt bad for them. But, they got thier chance to make up for it. So did 25th Division!! Tropic Lightning!

I was at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska

I was working at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune's Same Day surgery as a HM3. I was checking the pre-op patients in for the day when two of our patients said to turn on the news that the first plane hit the tower. I went out to our Nurses station and turned on the news where everyone saw the second plane hit. I didn't realize at the time it would change how business would be conducted for the rest of my service.

Had been retired from the AF for nearly 8 years at that time. I was at home babysitting my granddaughter.

I had just returned from the National Training Center the night before. The cable guy was at my hooch at Fort Hood to fix my satellite. He got it online and I saw the first plane go in...I told him to hurry up and finish the job because I knew I had a job to do. So, after 30+ days at NTC, I showered watched the few updates as the second plane hit and the other one "landed" in a field, and went in to work while all of Fort Hood stood on lock down. I was in command at that time and half of my battery was still at NTC, I had families that needed answers to how their husbands and sons were going to get home. I got those folks home and all of my battery did what they needed to do...honorably, to the last man.

So I am a young buck. I didn't come in until January 2006. I will never forget where I was when it happened though. I was sitting in geography class. One of the other teachers came in and told the coach who taught geography to turn on the radio. He turns it on, we all sit there listening in shock. After the radio host discussed the events, he said, "Let's have a moment of silence for all those who have fallen during this tragic event." And I swear not even a full second later, "And now for the sports..." I was like, WTF? That wasn't even a moment. Are you serious? I really wish I knew who it was that was talking. I want to give them a piece of my mind. I was already devastated at what happened, but then he does that, and it all just turned to anger. That's when I decided that I was for sure joining the military after graduation.

I was in the Gulf, stationed onboard the USS Nicholson, conducting MIO ops to enforce UN sanctions. We were waiting to search the next batch of boats. I was hanging out in the ET repair shop watching movies when the captain came on the 1MC and told us simply that New York had been bombed. Almost en masse, the crew met on the smoke deck to deal with what wee had just heard. Of course, we sought out those crew members we knew had family in NYC (never forget you Frary). Things got hairy immediately. We couldn't find out anything immediately, and we couldn't let our families know we were alright. We knew we were safe, we just wanted to find out about everyone back home. My mama was working at the VA hospital at the time, and we were all worried about further attacks. Nobody slept for days, until we got the call. Then we really didn't sleep. We didn't see, much less walk on, dry land for over 80 days. I think that homecoming was the most bittersweet of them all. Glad to be home, but we still wanted to be back there, doing what we had trained for, doing what we do best.

32nd street San Diego aboard the USS Stethem DDG-63. We were about to get underway for our quals when we saw the first tower get hit. After that we were told the base had gone to threat con Delta and that we were to be ready for anything because we were locked and loaded since our quals ended up being bypassed. I am sorry for all who lost loved ones during that time and you have my condolences; as far as my experience especially at the time it was hard to believe that it had actually happened and thus realizing the extreme responsibility and secret nature that I had to maintain since I was an IC and ran the site system on the ship; I still remember that week following the attack and the year following while we were on extra alert during our watches. It puts a toll on you and your loved ones during that time and especially now when I have flashbacks of that day and that year and I hope that anyone that had to go through something so traumatic like that is able to get help and have loved ones to help you get through your flashbacks like I do now.

I was a Long Range Surveillance Team Leader in the National Guard when 9-11-2001 came around. On that particular day, a Tuesday I was working my other job as a Firefighter. We had just lit an 8th floor training fire in a soon-to-be demolished hotel when we got word that a plane had flown into the WTC. No sooner had we got the word when we had to respond to a REAL high-rise fire in an occupied apartment building at the opposite end of the City. Busy day. I knew when I watched those towers fall (replay) that the world was about to take a right turn.