Where were US military who were in the U.S. on 911, and what were they doing?

Question

I just learned through the "military" Q&A that we have about 1.2 million military, of which no more than 330k are stationed overseas. (My concern was with whether we were being properly guarded here in the United States).
On 911 then we still had hundreds of thousands of military stationed here in the United States/ (Is that right)?
I'm just curious as to what these men and women were doing on 911? (serious question) -- I mean were they given any specific orders? It just seems (given post coverage information) that "scramble" jets weren't ordered that quickly and there was no info regarding the status of troops stateside.

Thank you for taking my question seriously and leading me in the right direction. (re the report); I appreciate it. And I appreciate further answers also

Some of these recaps are so sad. I am by NO means putting down U.S. troops. Not at all . As I wrote originally, this was a serious concern to me as it should be to others.I am sure that every single U.S. soldier was ready and willing that day as they have been every single day since. Thank you for giving me a better understanding.............

Answer 1

Very good question and I do not think you are trying to put the military down in any way. The problem with many "tunnel vision" people is if you ask a question or critizes the war in Iraq, you are against the military. That is a load of bull!
Interesting point however is with so many planes going off course and especially since they were headed to New York & Washington, why were USAF planes not sent up to intercept and I know that is not decided by the pilots. Still an interesting question.

Answer 2

The military were right where they were supposed to be: at their duty station doing what their particular mission entailed. As according to the consitution, the Military is not used for policing actions EVER. Thus, prior to 9/11, the department of Homeland Defense and NORCOM didn't exist... mainly because such a terrorist attack had never happened before.

Remember, the primary job of the active duty military is to fight wars, not to guard the homeland (that's the job of the national guard while the coast guard protects our seaborders). The primary job of the Active Duty when in garrison is to maintain mission readiness, deployment readiness, and to excercise and train so that troops will be available to Combatant Commanders.

Also, it is important to note that the length of time in scrambling fighters was increased mostly due to the fact that everyone thought the first plane crashing into the WTC was an accidental impact. By the time anyone knew what was going on it was too late to stop the other two aircraft. Furthermore, the request to a US pilot to shoot down a civilian loaded passenger aircraft would be something that had likewise never been done before. The policy for that situation has sense been put in place, but at the time it was enough to give anybody pause.

Answer 3

My husband left for formation that morning like every other day, because it was just another day. By the time he got there, though, and then got through the line and on to post (we were in Colorado so it was still early there when the towers were hit), they were on lock-down and I got a 2 minute phone call saying he didn't know if he would even be home that night. How exactly they occupied their time that day, he never did say, but he's a scout, so there wasn't anything he could do anyway unless the threat came to him on the ground.

Colorado Air National Guard went up on patrols. Turns out they scared a bunch of people who didn't know the difference between a military jet and a civilian aircraft, but they were up there just the same, patroling to keep us safe from any threat that might come our way (2 bases, the AF academy, NORAD and Denver all in one little pocket seemed like as good a place as any to patrol around).

I had a neighbor who was here in Germany that day, and she said that after the attacks, US tanks rolled up and blocked the entrances to the housing area where she lived.

The ones who could do something, did. Their duties were different that day with the alerts, but they were doing their jobs to the best of their ability for the situation that was presented directly to them.

Answer 4

I was on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. That morning I thought it would be good to go have breakfast atthe chowhall. Like any ordinary day I walked in ordered my food and sat down. With no clue to what was going on, I sat there, eating. I saw the T.V. and others around looking at it. I thought it was somekind of new T.V. show. No idea what so ever of what was going on! I walked out with a strange look. Wondering why everyone looked so concerned over a show. I didnt pay it much attention. I went to work and thats when it hit me. Everyone was talking about it. I was shocked. That day I gathered my troops and told them to prepare for the worst. We all got all of our gear and I had a inspection to make sure we all had what we were issued. The base was locked down! Tanks at the front gate, Avengers driving around. No one on or off the base for 2 days. We were at the highest level of security. The flags came down to half mast. It was a sad day for Americans. That weekend I went home, I only lived an hour away from my folks, I remember having a Bar B Que like if everyone knew I was gonna be leaving soon. I got pulled over by a cop that day. He asked me what I had in the back seat, I replied, my gear. Your Gear? Yes Im in the Marines. He said, have a nice day and walked away. Thats where I was. Everyone was doing normal everyday things that day. Except for the MEU that was deployed at the time and was in the ocean somewhere in the Middle East 2 weeks before we were attacked. I got to go a couple months after that.

Answer 5

Read the 911 Commission Report for specifics, but basically, any fighters that were assigned to protect domestic forces were not armed for air to air combat, and they were not "on alert" as they were during the Cold War. The military, like the rest of the nation initially thought the first crash was an accident, and responded as quickly as possible. We went to Delta (the highest alert level) as soon as we realized it was an attack and locked down every base. Frankly, we were caught with our pants down... :(

Answer 6

Before the attacks - normal peacetime training and sustainment operations.

After the attacks - implemented 'Threat Condition Delta,' placed bases on lockdown, and began scrambling to ready fighter aircraft for combat operations.

The sad fact of the matter is that 99% of the military did not have anything they could effectively do at the time - like everyone else they were unwilling spectators to events beyond their control.

Answer 7

Im in the national guard. I slept in and missed class. When I woke up I went to school and found out classes had been canceled. At first was like awsome, then I found out why they were canceled. I called the armory and was told that there was only enought room for so many units in NY to help out and they would get ahold of me if needed.

Answer 8

All Military Bases went to the HIGHEst level of threatcom to date in U.S. territory, bases were blocked 1/2 to 1 mile from the gates, no one in or out unless official, all Soldiers were recalled, and went to full battle rattle on standby or local emergency status, priority turned to defend pertenent assests. I was recruiting, we blocked the offices with our cars and did not venture out,. The missions came quick and were fufilled. If you are asking what I think you are be aware our Military does not patrol our streets, that is what police are for.

Answer 9

The problem really wasn't the military. As soon as it was determined that the crashes were attacks, military fighter jets where in the air and in the areas looking for possible hijacked planes. the problem was the processes before that were very slow in recognizing the threat and determining it was indeed an attack.

Answer 10

I was on ADSW orders at my local National Guard unit doing general maintenance on equipment. When we finally figured out what was going on we spent the rest of the day fueling and preparing for a movement, but we never got any orders. It was two years later when we got activated for OIF.