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

I was sitting in the MEPS station in St. Louis, MO with orders in hand to Fort Bragg for completion of training.  Needless to say, I didn't fly that day.  Little did I know, at 19 years old, my life for years to come would be completely changed by that moment. 

I had just pinned SGT 4 days before then and we had just pushed a piece of our unit to Bosnia on a 6 month deployment!

I was at work on my birthday working on equipment,heard it on the radio. I was in a reserve unit at the time also.

On my last deployment of my first enlistment....getting ready to transition out having just gotten married a few days before I left. Stop loss had a play, but patriotism was high back then and I was young. I re-enlisted and stayed for another 12 years.

I still remember watching on AFN. You know the routine....12 hour shift turned 16 hour day...long night of getting broken airplanes ready for the morning. I had just walked in the door of my room at Sembach, cracked an 1878, and was taking off my boots getting ready for bed. 10 minutes later we were headed back into work with all our gear. LONG DAY! Seemed like a long deployment that followed, but by later standards it was a walk in the park.

I was in JRTC training for a tour in Kosovo...I was in "guard" in a tower at the time and the SOG came by and told us to stop anyone without a "green card" from coming into the base. I pointed out we only had blanks...and was told that "they don't know that" lol

In processing Ft. Campbell sitting in CIF getting briefed while the TV was on behind the briefer. He kept yelling at us to stop watching and pay attention to him.

I'm one of the "Old Guys", but I was at my DLA desk in Columbus Ohio assuring that contracted material moved to our warfighters in a timely manner.  Most of our workforce left after watching the news reports that day by noon, but I stayed.  My director was at the Pentagon that morning and we had no idea what had happened to him.  He had left the building about 30 minutes before the impact and was on his way to Ft. Belvoir.  So yes, I'd say I'm experienced.

I had gotten off shift at 0730 that morning (I was the night shift Security Forces Supervisor at my base), usually I would eat something then go to bed.  That day for whatever reason I stayed up and was watching the TV with my dogs.  I was flipping channels and stopped on CNN just before the 1st Tower got hit - after the second plane the 2nd Tower I got on the phone with the base.  Not too long afterwards we went into FPCON DELTA. 

I was with Delta Company, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command Twentynine Palms, California. We were on the rifle range qualifying when the tower announced a cease fire and told us the news.

I was in my last week of Military Police OBC. My Battle was a reserve officer he worked for the NYPD for his full time job. It shook him up big time.