Star Notes
“Where I was on 9/11”
By Richard K. Sele
Brigadier General (Retired), US Army
Every year around this time I think about where I was on 9/11. I’ve never shared this much detail of my best recollection until now.
I was attending the year-long Command and General Staff Officer Course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas at the time. The total student body was probably somewhere around 1000 give or take. We were all mid-grade officers, Majors, and a foreign student body of similar ranks. This course was a major milestone in career development for all of us. It provided a well-rounded education that prepared us to serve as staff officers in multi-star level commands or the Pentagon.
I was sitting in my history classroom that started out as any other day. I recall there were about 10-15 of us in this particular class. We typically watched Fox News and chatted as we waited for class to start. Breaking News flashed reports of an airplane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. We watched video footage of the flames and crash site. I remember feeling puzzled more than anything. I thought it was pretty strange for an aircraft to hit the Towers. A few of us started to wonder if this was deliberate. Did some pilot have a breakdown and decide to commit mass suicide? Shortly after the Tower was hit a second plane hit the other Tower. Immediately several of us blurted out that this had to be an attack. We didn’t know for sure if it was a terrorist attack or another nation state. We assumed it was terrorism. We stayed glued to the tv and stood in shock as the Towers began to collapse.
Our civilian history professor stood there watching with us and quietly and cautiously said we had to begin class. Our heads spun toward him with that look of “are you nuts?” I shook my head and turned back to the tv, as did my fellow students. I think the professor just hadn’t processed what was going on. He was obviously in shock like all of us. We continued to watch the news for the remainder of our time there that morning. Eventually at some point the students were released for the day and until further notice. Thinking back, I believe we were off for about a week. The school and installation leadership had to start putting together a security plan for the post. By this time, we heard reports that this was in fact a terrorist attack. Some of us wondered if WW III just started. All of us agreed that the world just changed. Everything was going to be profoundly different from now on.
I later learned that one of our special operations students in the school was quietly pulled from the course that week and rushed back to Fort Bragg, NC. Apparently, he had previous experience in Afghanistan. In the days that followed, base security was beefed up more than I could imagine. Armed Soldiers and civilian police were increased at entry points. Cars were searched as they entered the base. Lines going on post extended down the roads and across the Centennial Bridge.
After leaving class that day I returned to my extended stay lodging off-post. I called my wife who at the time was also an Army Major working at US Pacific Command in Hawaii. It was still early Hawaii time and she had not even turned on the morning news yet before heading to work. I told her that terrorists hit the Twin Towers and both buildings collapsed. There was dead silence on the other end of the line. She then quietly asked how many people were killed. I could hear her voice quivering. We still did not know the casualty impact yet but there was speculation that there were “thousands of people dead.” I could hear her start to cry. I told her that she should call work before going in to find out what was going on out there. We were wondering if there would be similar attacks at other strategic locations like Hawaii. Pearl Harbor came to mind. I told her to be careful and that I loved her. We talked again later that day. I also remember talking to my daughter and telling her that I loved her. She asked if we were heading to war now. I told her that I didn’t know for sure yet what would happen but that the world is forever changed now.
That week my friends from school and I watched the news throughout the day and evening. It was hard not to. We’d occasionally take a break and drive around the local town in Leavenworth. One thing that stands out is how a couple of gas stations immediately spiked their gas prices to gouging levels. We reported those stations to the base commander’s office. Bases always have a list of off-limits places in the area. Usually they were seedy bars or drug infested areas. We hoped these gas stations would be added. I don’t know if they were. One thing for sure, as we drove past one of these stations a good friend of mine from Hawaii slammed on the brakes and barged into the gas station. He went off on an angry rant to the man running the place. He called him some pretty harsh names for taking advantage of the situation. Everything he said was well-deserved.
It was a surreal week. None of us really knew what was going to happen in the near term. We were all “stuck in school” and wished we were back with our units. When units were going to deploy, we wanted to be part of that effort. I didn’t know a single Soldier that wanted to be stuck back in the rear when the “rest of the Army” went to war. No one wanted that feeling of “not doing their part.” And yes, there were many I’ll admit (including me) that didn’t want to miss out on the action. I was furious about what happened on 9/11. This was our Pearl Harbor. I think most of my fellow students shared that anger.
When we returned to school soon after, we had a class assembly. Our leadership talked to us. Questions were asked. We were trying to level the bubble on what was known and could be released at the time. I remember one of the foreign students in the auditorium saying something along the line of “America had this coming.” You can imagine the shouts that flew back to that student. I was pretty shocked. Things quieted back down. We were still professionals and had to carry ourselves in a professional manner. We had a foreign student in my small group class. I won’t disclose where he was from. We picked his brain about his perspective though. It was interesting to hear his thoughts. He was from a country that was a bit more “direct” and less restrained in how they dealt with security issues. He believed the US needed to be more ruthless with how it dealt with its enemies and terrorists in particular. He talked about how some countries would hunt down the families of these terrorists and kill them.
I believe our response was the right one. It took longer to hunt down the leaders of this attack than I would have liked to see. We learned a lot from this event. Our interagency processes and information sharing dramatically improved since then. We still have some work to do in my opinion.
Years later I was assigned to the Pentagon. My office in Legislative Liaison happened to be the exact site where the plane hit that day. It used to be the area for “Army G-1” where personnel policy issues were handled. I was one of the lucky ones in the building to actually have a window. My view overlooked the 9/11 Memorial site. When President Obama led a memorial ceremony that year, either 2012 or 2013, I saw the ceremony from my window. The news cameras faced the building and I told my office mate, wouldn’t it be cool to wave out the window and watch us on the news at the same time? Being older and wiser than me, he advised against it. Fortunately, I agreed with him.
On 9/11 this year I’ll be thinking about that day again. I’ll be thinking about all of the lost lives and the years following as we hunted down al-Qaeda. It’s a good time to take a moment to reflect on how strong and resilient our country is. It’s that confidence that assures me we’ll get through the challenges with which we’re facing right now.
