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

I was just getting back from swing shift PT in my last month of AIT. The formation had just executed a left face outside the barracks when one of the Drill Sergeants ran out of the building and told all of us to get inside the day room. We all got to witness the second tower coming down. Later that day I was guarding the BN headquarters with a loaded M-16. Less than six months later I found myself at GTMO providing communications.   

I was doing demolitions training at I believe Story Range up by the DMZ in South Korea.  It was odd hearing the propaganda music the north played, my phone started vibrating like crazy.  My Commander hopped in his HMMWV and took off.  We had no clue what was happening.  After another day we went to camp....ended up being on lock down for a few weeks.  Couldn't even get out of uniform.  Weren't sure who was responsible and if there were additional terrorist acts to follow.......It was quite the experience.

I was working at Circuit City Service 0079 in Charlotte, NC.  We all saw the News Breaks on TV when they started coming on.

I was actually in 88H class at Ft. Rustics when this occurred also. We were in the middle of training and our instructors rolled up and told us class had been cancelled. We were all confused because nobody told us why. When we realized what had taken place we were all shocked. It was one of the most somber days I can remember on a military base.

I was aboard the U.S.S. Boxer while serving in the Marine Corps.  We had just left Hawaii and were on our way back to our home port in San Diego after a 6 month deployment.

at that time I was a platoon leader for the nc prison emergency response team, we were on a training mission  en route  to a prison unit, stopped off at a diner to get a bite to eat and saw the news flash played over and over again on a tv they had at the diner. needless to say, I returned to my unit, received orders and BAM! OUR LIVES HAVE SINCE BEEN CHANGED FOREVER regarding the way we do things.

Some powerful stories here for sure, its nice seeing soldiers with a strong sense of patriotism. As for me, I was in 3rd grade. We were told by the teacher something terrible had happened, and even at that young age we were able to sense the tension in the air. I went home, and my parents explained to me what had happened. I have always wanted to be in the Army since I can remember, and that day solidified that future plan. And here I am today.

I was in Land Navigation in Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC.  When the Drill Sergeant came in to tell us, at first we thought it was a training exercise.  We were allowed to watch the news when we got back to the company area and to call home to reassure at least one family member. 

I had just retired three weeks earlier with 21 years of Air National Guard service.  I had been the NCOIC of the Command Post and had not been replaced or even missed a Drill weekend.  We were a part-time shop that cranked up on a Drill weekend Saturday morning, powered everything up and operated for two 8 hour days before shutting everything down and heading home.

On the morning of 9-11, I was sleeping and my 4 year-old son brought me the phone.  It was my husband telling me to turn on the TV.  As so many others heard that day when they asked what channel, he replied "it doesn't matter."  I turned on the TV and saw the chaotic news reports.  I saw the second tower hit, the coverage of the Pentagon and the towers collapse.  I knew we were at war.  I received a call from one of my former folks who lived quite a distance from the base asking my advice as to whether she should start driving down.  I said yes.  I also told her I fully expected a call myself.  It came a few minutes later.  I found someone to take care of my son and drove out to the base.  The first thing I was asked by the Crisis Action Team was the meaning of SCATANA.  For the first 13 years of my career I had worked in an Air Sovereignty Command Post.  Luckily I remembered that this was the process for landing air traffic.  I worked about 12 hours that day, interpreting message traffic, sending reports, helping to establish a 24/7 Command Post function, creating checklists and so forth, all in civvies.

I had just been hired at a book store chain and was scheduled to start on the 13th.  My old military boss asked if I'd be willing to come to work as a straight Title 5 civilian.  I gave two weeks notice at the book store.  During those two weeks, our store sold out of every Nostradamus or prophecy related book we had!

I came to work as a civilian, doing the job I'd trained for for 21 years for REAL for the first time.  After one year, I was asked if I would be willing to get back in.  It took 9 months of paperwork going all the way to the Chief of Staff, but I got back in and am still serving today.  Our aircraft have changed, our missions have changed, but we are still in the fight.

I was on the flight line getting ready to go fly. One of my pilots came in an told me we were cancelled. I looked up at the beautiful sky, and then asked why? It was beautiful out. He said he didn't know, but all flights were cancelled. As I helped tow an aircraft in the hangar, one of the other Crew Chiefs came in and started telling us what had happened. I asked what movie this was in, and he said, it isn't a movie, it just happened for real. That's when we found a TV and started watching the news. When C5s started landing at Ft Campbell, people started jumping off of helicopters yelling, "We're going to War!!!" It was nuts.