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

I was at work at Brooks AFB in San Antonio, TX when coworkers started gathering in the hallways outside the TV room to see the news. I was in the environmental air quality field at the time and was told to prepare to provide air sampling support.

on board USS Constellation (CV-64) coming home from a 5th Fleet AOR deployment. We were between Hawaii and California that day, and we all wanted the CO to turn the ship around and head back to the Indian Ocean.<br>

I was in dispatch at the police department where I worked as an investigator. We were watching on TV when the second plane hit and the dispatcher said "Who would do such a thing." I said 'Osama Bin Laden.' We had a wanted poster up in the squad room for years with his picture on it. He had already tried to bring the Twin Towers down with a car bomb and he had the largest reward ever offered by the FBI on his head - $1 million dollars. I got a call telling me I was going to be recalled to active duty the next day.

<p>I was on my way to recruiting school in Pensacola FL form Seattle WA. I had stopped in Rock Springs Wyoming for the night and woke up to my wife calling me and telling me to turn on the news and that everything was blowing up. I actually watched the second tower fall. Crazy! I proceeded &nbsp;to drive across country as quick as I could. It was amazing how fast gas station owners panicked and start raising gas prices across the whole country. &nbsp;From I think &nbsp;$1.99 to&nbsp; over $5.00 a gallon&nbsp;over the course of the day.</p><p>When I finally got to Pensacola I was placed in a building where all the rooms were occupied with Saudi Arabia Pilots, contractors and their families. It had become to dangerous for them to live out in town. I have to admit I was a little uneasy with their dress,&nbsp;rituals and hours they kept. I had eight weeks to work through those feelings. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I will never forget!</p>

I was deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia when it all went down, a LT in the JIC. I had only been there for a week or two, and was only just getting acclimated to the intel center there. I remember everything like it just happened. The JIC transformed into a maelstrom of activity...it was surreal. Over the remainder of my deployment, we shifted from Operation Southern Watch ops to Enduring Freedom. What a crazy time. It shaped the remainder of my time in the USAF. I wound up spending nearly 3 of my next 6 years in the Middle East, all told.

Command Post Minot AFB, ND; Just got a 14 hour mid working the Global Guardian Exercise; the last couple B-52s were due to be 'Cocked-On' that morning.&nbsp; I was just getting to bed when I was called to report back immediately and spent the next 4 days coordinating the download of nukes and upload of conventional weapons, requesting fighter cover, sleeping in our training office.&nbsp; It was a blur of activity, keeping track of the weapons progress, security, and reporting to MAJCOM.&nbsp; The biggest thing I remember is how we all came together to work a&nbsp;team.&nbsp; Not just the military, the local and state police provided off base security to the 4 hour long line of cars waiting to get on the base, we provided them with meals (MREs), NVGs for those assigned to protect vital facilities, and other logistics...A time I'll never forget.

I was stationed at Spangdahlem AB Germany. It was near the end of our workday and we didn't have a TV or anything. We honestly thought it was a joke at first and then we were all in shock.

I was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky that year and on that very day we heard the news on someone's radio after taking a PT Test at the Parade Field.

I was stationed at Camp Pendleton. I was at the Ammunition Supply Point, picking up Mortars for a range.

The
preservation of Liberty always resides with the few determined souls
that are strong enough to answer the call of duty, compassionate enough
to protect the weak and infirm, determined enough to make a difference
in the world around them, and in possession of a big enough set of balls
not to back down when shit gets real. "Life would be much simpler if we
could choose our duties and obligations, but we can't, or at least we
shouldn't" Major Charles Whittlesey 308th Infantry CMH. Once a soldier, always a soldier.