ABSTRACT

I remember the day as it it were yesterday. It was 0900 Eastern Time; I was pulling out of my driveway on my way to a meeting at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia. I just turned on the radio news and heard with disbelief that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. I quickly got onto my cell phone and called the Command Post at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. I reached a former colleague, Staff Sergeant Wendy Giles, and headed out to the base. Wendy and I sat in the command post watching the situation unfold when a second plane hit the other tower. Almost immediately, the Command Post Console lit up like a Christmas tree. I received a call from BG Busbee, the commander of 22nd Air Force, instructing us to go to Threatcon Delta. It was at that moment I knew we were at war. Not since the Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbor has a foreign entity inflicted a direct attack on American soil. Within hours, the base, which has a relatively high level of security, was essentially closed to all except for essential personnel. Cobb County Police and Sheriff Department along with the Marietta Police Department assisted in external security until Air Force Security Forces could be mustered.