U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Rhonda McMichael rings a bell at 7:46 a.m. Central Standard Time Sept. 11, 2011, in honor of the men, women and children who perished when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City Sept. 11, 2001. The Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) held a ceremony to honor the memory of those who died during the worst terrorist attack on American soil. (U.S. Air Force photo by Angela Pope/Released)

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U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Martha Dunning, a member of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center Honor Guard, lays a wreath at the 9/11 Memorial at the 601st AOC Sept. 11, 2011, at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. The Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) held a ceremony to honor the memory of those who died during the worst terrorist attack on American soil. (U.S. Air Force photo by Angela Pope/Released)

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U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Sid Clarke, Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) commander, recalls his memories from Sept. 11, 2001, during a memorial service Sept. 11, 2011, at the 601st Air and Space Operations Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. CONR-1st AF (AFNORTH) held a ceremony to honor the memory of those who died during the worst terrorist attack on American soil. (U.S. Air Force photo by Angela Pope/Released)

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CONR marks 10th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

Published Sept. 11, 2011
By Angela Pope
AFNORTH Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- At 7:46 a.m. Central Standard Time Sept. 11, 2011, a lone bell rang out at Tyndall Air Force Base in honor of the men, women and children who perished when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City Sept. 11, 2001.

During a solemn ceremony as the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) remembered the tragic events of that day 10 years ago, the bell tolled at the precise moment each of the four airplanes crashed in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.

"This is a beautiful morning. If you look at the skies and how blue they are, it replicates what was happening in New York and D.C. on this very morning 10 years ago," said Lt. Gen. Sid Clarke, CONR-1st AF (AFNORTH) commander. "As we sit here right now, the families of 2,753 victims are gathered at the World Trade Center site in New York City. They are joined by the families of the 184 victims of the attack on the Pentagon and the families of the 40 victims of Flight 93 that are gathered in Shanksville. I ask that you remember them today in your thoughts and prayers.

"I believe their losses can and will be softened as the men and women of 1st Air Force continue to contribute to the healing. We contribute by recognizing that on Sept. 11, 2001, we failed," Clarke said. "We contribute by remaining vigilant in our posture and vigilant in our preparations. We contribute by seeking out the next threat, no matter how unlikely, and ensuring a credible and rapid reaction. We contribute to their healing by shouldering the burden of fear and providing the comfort of response."

Throughout the ceremony, the narrator read emotional recollections from firemen, students and several others directly impacted by the events of that day. Former and present members of CONR-1st (AFNORTH) shared their experiences on Sept. 11, 2001. Among them was Col. Dawne Deskins, who was serving as an air defense controller of the operations floor of the Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome, N.Y., as news of the attacks came to light.

"I was sitting in the battlecab getting ready for the day's events for a large NORAD-wide peacetime to war exercise," said Deskins, who is now the EADS vice commander. "The exercise was in its early stages. I got a call from the senior director technician on the ops floor telling me there was an urgent call from the Federal Aviation Administration. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me Boston Center had a hijacked aircraft. I thought it must be a mistake. He's obviously confusing the exercise with real world. I asked if he was sure it wasn't part of the exercise. The look on his face and the brightly flashing FAA hotline on the console answered my question. This was real.

"By the time we received the report that the Pentagon had been hit, desperation was setting in. We didn't have any more fighters on alert, we had almost no radar coverage on the interior of the U.S., and the reports of possible hijacked aircraft kept coming in," Deskins said. "My most vivid memories that morning were of feelings of helplessness, desperation and anger. It wasn't until the FAA grounded all air traffic that morning that we finally felt we had our arms around the situation. I remember taking a deep breath and thinking, 'Thank God.'"

In the 10 years since the attacks, EADS has adapted much of how it handles business to be better prepared for any potential threats.

Retired Maj. Gen. Larry Arnold, who was the 1st Air Force commander on Sept. 11, 2001, was the keynote speaker of the ceremony. He described what unfolded at 1st Air Force as the attacks happened and over the next several days, weeks and months as America became determined to find ways to prevent another attack like that from hitting within our borders.

After Arnold spoke, Lt. Col. Reid Rasmussen, the ceremony's narrator, explained the components of the 9/11 Memorial and their significance, as Tech. Sgt. Martha Dunning, a member of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center Honor Guard, laid a wreath on the memorial, which served as the backdrop for the ceremony

"The memorial behind me is a somber reminder to the men and women of 1st Air Force," Rasmussen said. "It was erected in the summer of 2007, designed by Jerry Spivey, a Tyndall civil engineer, and Master Sgt. Robbie Robinson, a member of the 601st AOC. The memorial links various artifacts into a display that reminds us of the day and of the criticality of the air defense mission. The memorial features twisted steel from the floors of the World Trade Center, Tower Two; scorched limestone form the damaged face of the Pentagon; and chiseled segments of flagstone from a Pennsylvania Quarry."

After the wreath-laying ceremony was complete, Col. Tim Duffy, who was one of the first pilots to scramble on Sept. 11, 2001, also took to the podium to describe the chaos surrounding the day's events.

Before the fourth and final bell ringing, Col. Randy Spear, 601st AOC commander, shared his observations on what has changed at 1st Air Force since Sept. 11, 2001, and offered his thoughts on where he believes 1st Air Force is going in the future.

"The rules of engagement have changed. I'm amazed the passengers on Flight 93 realized mid-stream as they were getting cell phone calls that the rules have in fact changed, and they took matters into their own hands. I've always been impressed with that," Spear said. "The interagency piece has changed. Among the various agencies sitting behind me in the AOC right now are two FAA individuals. On 9/11, the FAA knew there was a problem long before the military knew. Today we have a network that lets us listen in on FAA communication so we know of problems within minutes, because you never know what the next 9/11 might look like, whether it's a missed check-in by an airliner on a frequency or a disturbance in the back of a plane.

"One thing I'm extremely encouraged by is the men and women working here. And they're always here. They'll be watching over us so that if we find ourselves in harm's way, they can do something about it. It is up to us to use our superior creativity and imaginations so that we can anticipate the bad ideas before they can even think of them."