Rufus Shinra
Well-known member
So, a book with testimonies of the people involved in the US' first response during 9/11 has gotten out, and I've seen these two gems on the Politico article:
Am I the only one to be astonished at the admission that a massive military force that was the target of hundreds of strategic bombers for decades decided to not have any military radar covering its own airspace and that the USAF didn't even have rules of engagement for aerial combat above its own country? What kind of unholy arrogance mixed with optimism is this?!
Source: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/05/911-oral-history-flight-93-book-excerpt-228001
*blinks*Major General Larry Arnold, commander, 1st Air Force, Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida: We can't see the aircraft. We don't know where it is because we don't have any radars pointing into the U.S. Anything in the United States was considered friendly by definition.
Lt. Heather "Lucky" Penney, F-16 pilot, D.C. Air National Guard, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland: Our chain of command didn't go up to NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command], didn't go up through the First Air Force, which oversaw operations in the United States. They had no method to be able to reach down—or even be able to know that the D.C. National Guard was there and available. There were no rules of engagement. I hadn't even thought about what that kind of mission might be like on American soil.
Am I the only one to be astonished at the admission that a massive military force that was the target of hundreds of strategic bombers for decades decided to not have any military radar covering its own airspace and that the USAF didn't even have rules of engagement for aerial combat above its own country? What kind of unholy arrogance mixed with optimism is this?!
Source: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/05/911-oral-history-flight-93-book-excerpt-228001