9/11: Retracing the journey of confusion
By Tom Range, Sr.

Early in the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the presidential aircraft Air Force One delivered President George W. Bush and his party to Sarasota, FL.  The president's political advisors had scheduled a photo-op session in the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota to publicize the administration's educational initiative. The president was to preside at a meeting with the faculty and pupils of the school. 

As the president was waiting to appear before the gathering, he received word that at 8:46 a.m. a commercial airliner, American Airlines Flight 11 out of Boston, had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. No one was sure whether this was a tragic accident or was a deliberate act of terrorism.  At 0903 hours military time (9:03 a.m., Eastern Time), as President Bush was seated before the school children, reading to them from a children's book, his Chief of Staff Andrew Card informed him that the South Tower of the World Trade Center had been hit by another plane, United Airlines Flight 175 out of Boston.  Both commercial airliners had been hijacked by terrorists and used as weapons in acts of war. By 0912 the president's party left the school to return to Air Force One.  By 0954, the presidential plane was airborne, to fly into history.

Within the time frame of the school visit in Florida and the president's plane landing at its next destination, the following occurred:

a) 0937-the Pentagon was hit by a third hijacked commercial plane, American Airlines Flight 77 out of Dulles Airport in Washington;

b) 0950-the South Tower collapsed sending thousands to their deaths;

c) 0958-messages are received that a fourth airliner, United Flight 93 out of Newark, NJ was taken over by terrorists;

d) 1003-passengers on Flight 93, presumed to be headed for Washington, DC fight the hijackers who crash the plane into a field in Shanksville, Somerset County, PA;

e) 1010- a portion of the Pentagon collapses: and

f) 1028-the stricken North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

Lieutenant General Thomas Keck, commander of the Eighth Air Force stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, LA, received a signal at about 1000 hours that an inbound plane had radioed ahead requesting 150,000 pounds of fuel, 70 box lunches, 25 pounds of bananas, 40 gallons of juice, along with bagels, muffins and coffee.  It was common for military planes to stop over at Barksdale for fuel and other supplies, and they occasionally carried distinguished visitors (DVs) such as senators and congressmen. General Keck had his suspicions as to what aircraft and what DVs were approaching his facility.  The attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania had flashed across military channels as well as the commercial media. He was aware that the president had been visiting nearby Sarasota.

Air Force One touched down at Barksdale at 1140 hours Eastern Time. The president, now acting in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of all the military forces of the United States, had ordered his crew to land the plane at a facility that would be capable of taping and transmitting a message to the world. The Louisiana base was near Sarasota and had the capabilities required. Coincidently it was on full alert since a drill had been scheduled for that day and the base's complement of B-29 bombers were manned and ready for takeoff. 
The presidential plane landed and the C-in-C and members of his staff including Andrew Card and political advisor Karl Rove deplaned to be put aboard armored humvee ground transportation for conveyance to a building where the taping of the message would be accomplished.  General Keck opted instead to convey his DVs in a minivan used by the base's supervisor of flying. The van was simply more practical because it could hold more people than the humvee.  Bristling with radio antennas, the minivan's call sign on the base was "Soccer Mom." Trailed by four other cars carrying the nearly 20 people accompanying the C-in-C, the motorcade proceeded to the base administration office where secure phones were used to talk with Vice-President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, among others. By 1236 hours, the C-in-C had taped his message to the nation and the world and by 1315 (1:15 p.m.) he had been delivered via Soccer Mom back to Air Force One. General Keck had accompanied the presidential party throughout its brief stay in his command.  Within the two hour visit, the Air Force commander had arranged with Brigadier General Jack Ihle, commander of the 917th Wing of the Air Force Reserve, for an escort of A-10 Warthogs, relatively slow war planes but containing a fearsome amount of firepower. Ultimately a flight of F-16s arrived to escort Air Force One to its next destination, Offutt Air Force Base south of Bellevue, NE near Omaha.

At about 1450 hours Eastern Time, the presidential plane touched down at Offutt.  The C-in-C was immediately taken to an underground command post. Using the facilities of the United States Strategic Command (StratCom), the C-in-C convened a National Security Council meeting by teleconference from the base. 

While Air Force One was enroute to Offutt, General Keck in Barksdale had phoned his friend Admiral Richard W. Mies, the commander of StratCom, "Rich, you've got an aircraft inbound."  Rich got the message. He realized that he too would be hosting some DVs.  Since 1040 hours, Offutt had been on security level Delta, which is defined as existing "where a terrorist attack has occurred or where intelligence has been received that terrorist action against a specific location or person is likely."

Being assured that Washington, DC was militarily secure, the presidential party left Offutt at 1636 hours and Air Force One arrived back at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland shortly after 1800 (6 p.m.).  The C-in-C was conveyed to the White House by the presidential helicopter Marine One by 6:54 p.m. to address the nation at 8:30.  The president stated in his address, "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." By 10:21 p.m., Secret Service radios carried the news that President Bush, the Commander-in-Chief of a nation at war, had gone to bed by transmitting the message: "Trailblazer (the president's code name). Second floor of the residence."

In the sixteen hours during which Air Force One carrying its DVs took off from Andrews in Maryland, it had flown to Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska and then back to Maryland.  The nation had been plunged into war. Over 2,900 citizens and visitors to the United States had been murdered by a shadowy group of international terrorists led by Osama Bin Ladin. As long as his terrorist organization Al-Qaeda exists, the war will continue.

The search for Bin Ladin is now in its fifth year.

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