Where were you 15 years ago today?

Getting ready to pull in to offload warshot for training torpedoes so we could do our proficiency shoot at AUTEC. The tugs were in sight when we finished breaking the message and started to turn back to open water. We went to DEFCON 3 and headed east.

Was in 7th or 8th grade. Didn't really know what was going on because they wouldn't let us watch on tv. I felt sorry for the people that died, but it didn't really effect me personally. I was mostly just pissed off that the college football games that weekend were cancelled. I do remember that was the first time I heard of the World Trade Center.

I was in Jacksonville FL at a company training class. Was sitting in the office of our Chief Marketing Officer. he had the TV on due to 1st plane strike. Then second on hit.

Terrible part was that I was in training with some people from NYC, who had family that worked in the towers. Total devastation for those poor people.

I had one guy who worked for me who was coming late to the training and was literally sitting on the tarmac at Newark on a plane and saw the 1st strike from his airplane window at Newark airport. All traffic stopped immediately. They were trapped on the plane for several hours and all persons were intensely interviewed before being released by police and FBI.

Training class was obviously cancelled, but given that the entire US air grid network was shut down, we wound up driving home. Some guys heading to Chicago gave me a lift to Atlanta.

Redstone Arsenal. I had just woken up to do PT.

I went down stairs and there was nobody - anywhere. A soldier ran around the corner and yelled at me "A Plane just dropped a bomb on The Pentagon!"

DEFCON 4

I'll never forget how blue that sky was. Too bad our missiles weren't looking at our own planes that day...

In Okinawa. Monday Football came on Tuesday night. Was watching the game when it was suddenly interrupted by the news. Was a zombie like feeling. Got a call from my Major telling me my leave was rescinded and that I needed to come to the base. Driving through the gate I remember a young Marine had a 50 cal machine gun pointed at me, training it on my car the entire way down the street that lead to the base. Knew then that shite had just gotten real.

Yeah Force Con Delta is some serious shite

Sitting at the bus stop to go to school, listening to sports talk radio when they interjected with the news that a plane had hit the WTC. I was convinced it was an accident until the second one hit.

In 5th grade. Teacher was almost an hour late coming into class so everybody was like "da frick?". She finally comes in and says "There's been a terrorist attack on America and recess is canceled today." They didn't turn the news on because it was an elementary school and she didn't really explain what had happened to us, so my little 10 year old mind imagines if they canceled recess it must be an immediate threat to us, like Russians parachuting down and coming out of the woods with guns, Red Dawn style. I legitimately was freaked out and thought I was in danger because they wouldn't tell us what was going on.

Was in college and went and poured coffee/fixed snacks for some senior citizens who would have a public skating session at the skating rink I worked at in high school during the week for some easy cash. Didn't turn on the TV before I headed in so I had no idea what had even happened until I got there and saw it on the TV. Then the second plane hit and everyone realized it wasn't just an accident. It was terrifying. I was with some older guys who had served out of Fort Knox and they were devastated. Just awful all around.

I think the creepiest thing in the days to follow was driving to class and passing Standiford Field and the UPS hub without a plane in the sky. You take for granted the things that are always in the background. My Dad also worked for the railroad at the time and they essentially locked down his work. It was pretty stressful for him and us as there were rumors of terrorists intending to strike major supply lines and they were a high priority target since they shipped military equipment.

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Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. I was 13 years old. Whole base went into lock down and life on a military installation was never the same again.

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I was right down the road at the NCBC in Gulfport. As the Commadore's Military Training Officer I had to help lock down the base and liaison with the AF security forces over at Kessler. Remember having a meeting later in the afternoon with a bunch of real green Navy & AF officers in my office. As we broke up one of those jokers asked who was the guy in the FBI most wanted poster on my door. I explained it was the guy who just kicked the US in our collective junk. I still have that poster of OBL....wonder if it's worth anything.