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America? Or AMERICANS? People who believe in a concept make this country great Posted: September 8th, 2006 05:08 PM EDT FRANK BORELLI Equipment Reviewer Officer.com Just recently, I received an e-mail from my editor at Officer.com: in essence, he was looking for articles having to do with the attacks of September 11, 2001. With the fifth anniversary upon us, much of the media (in all its forms) is looking to report on how the country has changed, or what we still need to do. Officer.com, to their credit, wasn't looking for any of the usual sensationalistic hype. A few years ago I was honored to work with the United States Army in an effort to increase the efficiency that does or would exist between the military and civilian law enforcement, in the event of a national disaster or emergency. Oddly enough, this effort initialized in August of 2001, and not as a result of nine-eleven. As a result of that work effort, I had the unique opportunity to examine the response of civilian public safety, as it was affected by the Department of Defense, to the attack on the Pentagon. I need to acknowledge the information received from Captain Tom Panther of the Arlington County Police Department, and Mr. David Grow, a Department of Defense/Army civilian employee. Captain Panther and Mr. Grow are largely responsible for the information covered here and the development of this perspective that compares military response to civilian response in a crisis situation. The Timeline Let's remember that morning...as much as sometimes we don't want to: * At 8:20 AM, American Airlines Flight 77 departs Dulles Airport, approximately 20 miles from the Pentagon. * At 8:50 AM, radio communications with that flight are lost. At that time, the flight is about 280 miles from the Pentagon. * At 8:56 AM, the transponder signal from Flight 77 is lost. It would have been approximately 335 miles from the Pentagon. As a matter of reference and to show how compressed time became, it would usually take us close to six hours to drive that distance (335 miles). * 34 minutes after the transponder signal is lost, at 9:30 AM, radar picks up a plane approaching Washington, D.C. * At 9:33 AM, a plane crosses the Capital Beltway, with an estimated speed of 400 mph. * At 9:35 AM, the plane banks steeply in an apparent attempt for a second approach to the Pentagon. In less than two and a half minutes, the plane drops 7,000 feet. * At 9:37 AM, the plane drops off the air traffic control radar. * At 9:38 AM, at an estimated speed of 460 mph, the plane slams into the Pentagon, flying so low that it clipped the tops off several street lights on the way in. At this point we need to recognize something: official response--that coming from any governmental body--is almost always slower than the natural response of people. The impact of the plane into the Pentagon occurred (officially) at 9:38 AM. The first responding fire trucks and other emergency apparatus arrived within ten to fifteen minutes (some reports put it at eight minutes, other at as much as seventeen). The first responding fire truck was from Reagan National Airport, and self-dispatched after being notified that a plane was crashing somewhere in the vicinity. So, using the eight- to seventeen-minute window, the first responding fire truck was on scene between 9:46 and 9:55 AM. A state of emergency, allowing outside agencies access to the Pentagon property, wasn't declared until 11:39 AM. That's almost two full hours after the impact. People responded within eight to seventeen minutes. The bureaucracy responded in two hours. Witness just one of the ways AMERICANS can outperform AMERICA. Crashing into the side of the Pentagon between Wedge 1 and Wedge 5, directly to the right of the helipad used by high-ranking government officials, the plane reportedly penetrated the outer three of five rings. Explosion, fire, expanding heat, expanding sonic wave...all took place immediately. Two workers standing next to the heliport building had a quick choice to make: seek shelter under a nearby fire truck, or behind the building on a side away from the incoming plane. They chose the building...and it's a good thing, because the fire truck was captured in the expanding fireball from the explosion and destroyed by the fire. Immediately upon impact of that plane, multiple mission mandates existed, but there were also multiple jurisdictional claims. Who had priority? It's a Department of Defense property--military jurisdiction. It was believed to be a terrorist act--FBI jurisdiction. There is a working fire--fire department jurisdiction. The crash involved a plane--NTSB jurisdiction. If any ranking dignitaries were on hand, the Secret Service had jurisdiction. Number one priority: FIRE The working fire put the incident scene under the immediate command of the ranking fire department officer on the scene. The Arlington County Fire Department assumed control of the fireground and held it for eleven days. Think about the implications of having a non-military fire chief in charge of the nation's military headquarters. Some of the missions / tasks that had to be considered and coordinated included * Fire * Crime scene * Traffic * Search & Rescue * Triage * Treatment and transport of the injured * Evacuation * Impacts on mass transit (the Metro, D.C.'s subway, had shut down) * Securing the fireground/crime scene * Command center designation and stand up * Dignitary Protection * Public information dissemination * Information control * Media relations On top of all those missions--and they're not listed in order of priority--were also added the following concerns and challenges: * health * material acquisition * repairs * identification of injured / casualties * evidence collection * responder management and care * volunteer management * personnel exposure control (physical, emotional, psychological) * communications within and without As I said, fire was the first threat and had to be dealt with accordingly. Because of the nature of the material used in the attack (jet fuel and plane construction materials, plus all of the unknowns in the cargo hold), hazardous materials were also an obvious concern. The second priority was set as crime scene security. Multiple organizations had an interest in the scene for multiple facets of the investigation: * FBI: Terrorism investigation * Arlington County PD: local police * Arlington County Fire: fire, search & rescue * National Transportation Safety Board: airline crash * Department of Defense: property manager One of the biggest surprises came when Metro buses full of people carrying volunteers from miscellaneous churches in the "Bible Belt" showed up with food. Without being asked or recruited, they had taken it upon themselves to prepare food, load up and deliver it. This is the second example of Americans taking the initiative where they saw a need. Once the fireground was established, it never stopped evolving. It grew and grew until it eventually became what was called "Camp Unity." Truckloads of supplies were shipped in. Everything from underwear to food to Kevlar booties for the search & rescue dogs arrived. Schools nationwide started drives to collect necessities and get them delivered to either the Pentagon or the World Trade Center emergency area. This is another example of Americans stepping up to perform without being asked. These examples of American initiative...they are all examples of what behavior we as a people are capable of when something happens to band us together. Our patriotism, compassion and national pride all combine to help us overlook ideological differences. Democrats and Republicans stood together on September 12, 2001--and no one blamed anyone for anything. Five years later, I think some could take a lesson from that. On the ground at the Pentagon, victims had to be rescued, triaged and treated. Because of the number of agencies that responded, communications were difficult. Multiple systems were in use. Different police agencies had different radio systems, and only a few of them (if any) crossed over to the fire department communications system. If they did, they didn't in any way link to the federal systems. Search & rescue was a multi-day effort and was compounded in the first hour of operations by the unexpected collapse of a portion of the burned structure. The grisly task of removing and securing human remains for identification, and then proper burial services was the job of many of the search & rescue personnel. Obviously, the Pentagon was closed for business and evacuated that day. Due to the attacks that occurred in New York and the unconfirmed rumors of up to another two dozen hijacked airplanes still circling the skies, mass transit systems were shut down. Tens of thousands of people who used the Metro bus and subway systems to get to work every day found themselves unable to use those same systems to get home. Many just started walking, knowing full well that they had ten, fifteen or twenty miles ahead of them. They would take each mile as it came. But they knew they couldn't stay where they were, and they couldn't use their usual means of transport home. They exercised the only option left: their two feet. Outside of the fireground at the Pentagon, and in New York and at embassies all around the world, mourners stood in line to see what had happened or to leave a flag, a rose, a card, etc. For their own safety and to protect the security of the fireground, accommodations had to be made for them as far as delineating space, lines, rest areas, water, and so on. As a matter of reference, one man I know was stuck in Los Angeles for ten days after the attacks occurred. Upon getting home to the Washington D.C. area at two in the morning, he decided to drive by the Pentagon and see what he could see. At two in the morning, he stood in a line. As with any major news event, the media had to be kept informed. With multiple law enforcement, fire, federal and other agencies on hand, who spoke for whom? Who was authorized? What info could be released? A small community of satellite communications vans lined up outside the fireground perimeter. It became clear to the fire chief in command early in the day that night operations would have to be planned. Lights, sleeping accommodations, personnel rotations and management of the human resources pouring into the area all had to be taken into consideration. One of the biggest realities felt by those providing emergency services at the Pentagon was that no reduction in other services occurred. If anything, due to the emergency school schedule changes, unexpected numbers of people on the roads, unconfirmed reports of other attacks, etc, the police and fire departments had more than usual their workload. But they had that work load on top of the work being done at the Pentagon. It should be noted that Arlington County, where the Pentagon is, is one of the smallest counties in the country. Their resources are not unlimited. At one point during the firefighting, victim treatment, evacuation and everything else--at some point a group of Americans carried a huge American flag up onto the roof of the Pentagon. Those Americans were firemen and soldiers, and as I look at the picture...seven firemen unrolled that flag with the help of one soldier, while two firemen and one soldier watched and another soldier saluted. God bless him. That act of patriotism was a message to the terrorists: you can hurt AMERICA but you can't defeat AMERICANS. One of the oddest things I've ever heard a police officer say was in reference to the attack on the Pentagon. During a briefing given on police operations that day, one captain said, "We were lucky." Huh? I wondered how any person could look at the Pentagon attack and think "we were lucky." Here's what he meant: Arlington County enacted the emergency plans they had developed for the turn of the millennium. So, they had a plan. And, when you think about it, and this is mind-blowing all on its own: The institutional leadership of our country's entire military forces was attacked... and it wasn't even the lead story in the news. It was the <SECOND< em>news item for the day. Then I understood when he said, "We were lucky." Recovery at the Pentagon went on for weeks. What lessons did we learn? They are certainly different for the military than for public safety. In the case of the Pentagon attacks, the military might of the United States was useless. The devotion and skills of the firefighters and police officers who responded--at first without any authorization except their own call to duty--were needed by the country's military command center. Counterterrorism expert John Giduck often says, "Terrorists aren't afraid of America. They ARE afraid of AMERICANS". Why would that be? In two questions and answers, here's why: Q: How long did it take America to respond to the attacks of 9/11? A: Five years now, and still counting. Q: How long did it take <AMERICANS< em>to respond to the attacks of 9/11? A: Flight 93. Here at home--inside our country's borders--on the streets in our neighborhoods and towns...here we are the front lines. We cops, firemen, EMTs, deputies, paramedics, volunteers, reserves and career public safety officers--we are the first to respond to a terrorist attack. We are what will prevent it. We are the people who step up and do what has to be done, and think about the horror of it after the fact. We do our jobs...and then we silently weep later. Terrorism is a crime in this country--not an act of war. That means that we are the people who will have to deal with it when it comes to our shores. Thankfully, we haven't seen suicide bombers (more accurately called homicide bombers), vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs), or attacks on our schools, as occurred in Beslan, Russia. Thankfully, that war has been fought on the other side of the oceans that separate us from the horror. But make no mistake, when the horror occurs, we will be the first to go into harm's way to fight, to rescue, to protect and to defend. We are our country's front line troops if the war on terror comes back to our turf. I know we are up to getting the job done. I just pray we never have to do it. I'll leave you with two more thoughts, again both courtesy of Mr. John Giduck: The Russian Special Forces motto is, "If not me, then who?" I challenge each of you to ask yourself that question and make sure you know the answer: ME. And secondly, our worst has got to be better than their best. Make it the driving motivation in your day. Get all the training you can. Love your family and enjoy your time with them. Hug your kids good-bye every time you go to work or send them to school. Act like every day is September 12, 2001. Fly your flag. Feel the pride. Dedicate yourself to the job. And on those days when you wonder why you do it, because your boss is being a jerk and you spilled coffee on your tie, remember to ask yourself that question: If not me, then who? September 11, 2001: Never Forget. Web Links: * Borelli Consulting, Inc. <http://www.borelliconsulting.com/> Lt. Frank Borelli <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> is the Training Commander for the Fairmount Heights Police Department (in Maryland on the border of Washington, D.C.) and has been an instructor since 1989. Pulling on his six-year military background and twenty-year police background, Lt. Borelli regularly writes equipment evaluations and incorporates new technologies into his training programs as practical. Currently Lt. Borelli teaches use of force programs at all levels of law enforcement and corrections. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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