8 Years Later...

Remember when September 11th was just another day?



I did not know anyone who was directly affected by 9-11, but I still remember where I was, what I was doing, and the sheer horror I felt at seeing the towers fall. I remember the dread I felt when I thought about what our nation's response was going to be. Being a military member is hard when things like this happen. It is career changing, and it puts a lot of us in harm's way. I think my career can be divided into 2 distinct periods: before and after 9-11.



I had just come off the night shift at 0700. I called my mother and my sister that morning because I had just found out I was pregnant the night before and I wanted to tell them the good news. I went to sleep at about 0800 and I was just exhausted. My unit was doing field exercises and I had been on 12 hour overnight shifts for several weeks.



I remember my husband calling me and telling me that there was a plane that flew into the WTC and it was on fire. I thought it was a terrible accident; maybe the pilot had gotten hurt or had a heart attack. I thought about the people on board and I was so sad. It never occurred to me it was deliberate. Then there was another plane. Then the Pentagon. Later I heard about Flight 93. Oh, those poor people! And their families! And our country! What would this mean for our country?



Base exercises ended immediately and we went into real world actions. The base went onto THREATCON DELTA (which means the crap has officially hit the fan). The gates were locked, the schools and day care centers were closed. The name plates were taken down from our base housing units (so pilots and commanders could not be identified). All of the gate guards were armed to the teeth. Vehicles were being searched for bombs. And for the first time in my short career (5 years), I saw fully loaded fighter jets on my flightline. These weren't dummy bombs. This was not a drill or an exercise. This was real and I was scared. I was scared of the real possibility of being sent to war. I was scared that my base was a possible target. But this was what I was trained for. My unit stayed on 12 hour shifts for 3 months straight after that, 7 days a week. The base and housing went on lock down permanently. As did all Air Force bases. Gone were the days of being waved through by the guards. Now ID cards were demanded or entry was denied. Period.



While I was terrified, I was also mad. I wanted to fight and defend; as did all of my fellow Airmen. I was mad at the arrogance of those who dared to do this to our country. I was mad because I was PREGNANT and I knew I could not go whether I wanted to or not. My family (especially my mother) was relieved that I had to stay behind. It was a guilty feeling.



Before 9-11 my career consisted of training. After 9-11, it was about putting that training to the test. I am proud to serve, even though I haven't had to deploy overseas yet. Not that I'm itching to leave my family or go into combat, but my career field doesn't normally go to the front anyway, we are maintainers. Do you know how rare it is to be in 13 years and never have deployed? I feel like I have had it too easy. One day I'll be medically cleared and able to have my turn. When my number comes up, I'll do my part. Until then, I'll be here, supporting the mission so that others may go.