Where Were You?

I think it's pretty safe to assume that NO ONE who lived through the events of 9-11-01 will forget... Where were you on this historic morning?

I remember it like it happened yesterday. I was still a brand new airman in the USAF, having served just over a year. I was participating in a NORI (Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection) at Barksdale AFB, LA. I was part of the UCC (Unit Control Center) where I was responsible for running an operations desk, keeping track of pilots and planes, and sounding the alarm when it was time for the pilots to head to their jets for takeoff. NORI's and CORI's (conventional operational readiness inspections) are more like "war games" for those not familiar.

On the morning of 9-11-01, breakfast had just finished. It was the last day of the exercise, and we were all on edge, waiting for the alarm to sound so that the pilots could run to their jets in Baywatch-like perfection so they could start up, take off, and land in record time. Pilots were sitting in the breakroom, in the dining area, and some were gathered around the desk where I worked. The guys in the dining area were watching Fox News, while others were playing nintendo or catching up on the latest reality TV with us in the UCC. In the middle of a perfectly normal and exciting morning, one of the pilots walked into the UCC area and asked us to put it on Fox News.

The first plane had already struck. We watched in amazemenet, wondering how a pilot could have been so blind as to not have seen a tower in his flight path. We shook our heads in disappointment and frustration for the passengers on board who had surely lost their lives... In the middle of contemplating the cause of this horrible "accident," we watched as on LIVE TV, the second plane hit the second tower. Our mouths hit the floor as one of our pilots stated "this is no accident."

I ran to the break room in the back and told the pilots sitting there playing video games to put it on the news... In that short amount of time standing there with them, the news panned over to the Pentagon where a 3rd plane had struck. We all began to panic in our personal silences... all wondering what the next target would be, who was attacking us, and why?!

I ran from break room to dining room to UCC and back again. I watched as pilots with family in New York took out their cell phones and made calls... We all screamed in disgust as CNN made the announcement that President Bush was detouring his flight into Barksdale to make a statement on the events (stupid media... how could they tell these attackers where the President was headed?!) Meanwhile, I stopped walking... my feet were planted behind the UCC desk, and I just kind of sunk into myself. I stood there, not blinking, my mouth open, listening to the chatter among all of my airmen and the buzz of news channels in the background. The base was put on lockdown. It was the action of one pilot in particular that brought it home for me... Capt Kyle Benwitz was one of my flight schedulers at the 96th Bomb Squadron, and he was standing behind the UCC desk with me that morning. He placed his hand on my shoulder and asked "Airman Stroud, are you ok?" I just kind of looked through him and said no, I don't think I am! I called home. Then I took a deep breath, stuck my chin out and said alright... this is it!

No, I will definitely never forget that morning. I will never forget watching, and the moment we realized it was no accident. I will never forget seeing the thousands of images of people running from falling towers. I will never forget the fear of not knowing how many more attacks would happen. 9 years later, I'm still serving in the military. I've deployed 3 times in support of wars that began with the attacks of that day.

So I ask, where were you?