Posted on Sep 18, 2013
Where were you during 9/11? What has changed in 20 years?
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This question is geared toward those who were in the service when this happened, (Old Guy/Gals I know...)however all responses are welcome.
History (Major)
Terrorism
Osama Bin Laden
Al Qaeda
Experience
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 654
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I was in barracks room watching CNN waiting on first formation then flash it happened. All I could do is just watch in horror for those people in those tower and think 1 thing in the back of my mind. We are going to war over this in a minute. Then checked my battle rattle and made sure it was good to go.
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I had been in the US army from 1983 until 1992. I had been working at an electronics company for about a year. In June 2001, I was in the process of returning to the US Army, but waiting on waivers and the usual papwerwork to come back. The morning of 11 Sept 2001, I was at home sleeping and got a phone call from a friend. He told me to quickly turn on the TV. I could not believe my eyes. It was like a bad dream. My wife had just returned home from dropping our kids off at school and she was in shock. I was already determined to return to military duty no matter what. I remember going to work that day and hearing civilians complaining that the goverment was not doing enough. My question is what were these people willing to do? Not much of an answer from them. I knew and was glad that my wife and I made the decision to return to military service. It is one of the best decision I have made.
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I was with my Haz-Mat team at the ferry docks in Atlantic Highlands deconning people coming from the towers. The next day I was at ground zero with the USCG Atlantic Strike Team. I was there for a total of 16 weeks working at ground zero.
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I was assigned to the Regional SATCOM Support Center for EUCOM enroute from Hqs. USAFE, Ramstein AFB, Germany to Hqs. USAREUR Campbell Barracks with senior members of US Army Space Command. Listening to AFN Europe radio a flash announcement told of one of the towers being crashed into by what was thought to be a small private airplane. This was startling to say the least. When the newscaster announced that the second tower was hit by another airplane, one would have had to been unconscious to not suspect that America was being attacked.
World War I was declared as a result of an action that paled in comparison.
The following actions to this day have served to remind us of the level of competence in all arenas possessed by our countries leadership. Still, that leadership continues to deploy troops to geographic areas that have been at war with each other for Thousands of years with one another. Have you ever heard of going into battle without a winning strategy. Well, we are receiving lesson after lesson from activities that were going on since we WON the World War II.
What have we won since? We do know what we LOST.........many lives, much of our heritage and prestige.
Have you looked at the labels indicating where the articles that we purchase were made? If not, please do. That would be lesson 1 in Economics 101. Do you really believe that the "real" unemployment rate is less than 7%? Would you believe that the "real" unemployment rate for veterans exceeds 14%.
What will you do today to make a difference? The ball is in your court now.
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I was an E4 in the National Guard working as a cable TV installer as my civilian occupation. I had just finished installing service to a customer and turned on the TV to program everything when I saw what was happening. I stood there in the customer's home as the woman literally fell into my arms in disbelief. After ensuring she was OK, I gathered up my tools, called my dispatcher and told them I was reporting to my unit. I was the 2nd soldier to arrive and was immediately put to work preparing for what was to come. Within 24 hours I was ordered to active duty for force protection. I spent the next 72 days in various roles from gate guard to QRF to key leader protection detail.
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I was a a 19 yro PFC with NJARNG, I was working at a Harley Davidson Dealership in South Jersey, when the news cam across about a plane hitting the Tower. Then we watched the 2nd plane hit the 2nd Tower, I knew immdediately that it was no accident. I turned to my manager and said "Gotta Go" I reported to my Guard Unit and after a few hours were pushing 'Push Packages" up t NYC to aid first responders. Come January 2002 my Guard Unit was pulling secruity around Holland and Lincoln Tunnels assisting the Port Authority.
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I was out of the Military when this happened, however i was employed by the US Govt. with the Old INS(as a DEO), Currently ICE/ERO. We were at the Range doing our Pistol and Shotgun Qual when we got the word to report back to our Office.
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5 years retired as a CTO1 USN (Inactive Reserve). Working as a Senior Network Operations Specialist for Sprint, Just got home from working the Night Shift turned on the TV to that awful nightmare.
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Having retired in '99 I was working as a volunteer as a Level I Log Officer with the American Red Cross in Tampa, FL. We were briefing a planned large-scale exercise when suddenly everyone of us with a pager had an alert tone - each having the same phone number. One of the mental health workers took the call outside while the brief continued. When the mental health worker came in she interrupted the brief to insist the TV on the wall be turned to the news. We watched the first tower burn and then the 2nd plane hit. I stood up, put all the briefing papers in my folders ... the briefer demanded to know what I was doing since the brief was not over. My reply was: "This exercise is over, the U.S. is under attack, POTUS is only a few miles south of here. We will never be allowed to start this exercise. We're done here."
I spent the next 6-7 months working the NJ recovery side - supporting the thousands of case workers assisting the families of those lost in NYC.
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I was in college, and was walking from my first of three classes to my second. They were back to back so I had to hustle. I remember walking in about a minute before class started and seeing everyone gathered around a tv. I walked in just in time to see the second plane hit. I knew my mother was flying back from a business trip to CO, so I immediately called her to check on her. Afterward school closed and I went to see a recruiter two days later who actually turned me away , saying they weren't able to manage all of the applicants at once. He told me to be smart and finish college. I didn't get it.
It was 6 more years before I joined.
It was 6 more years before I joined.
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