Combined Joint Task Force Med 374 & Coalition Members Remember 9/11 with 5k Run/Ruck

Photo By Capt. Brandon Janson | The participants of the 9/11 ruck and run begin running at the sound of the fire engines with lights and sirens. The event was attended by the both Coalition forces and members of Joint Task Force Med 374. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Romero/released)  

IRAQ

10.01.2022

Story by Capt. Brandon Janson 

807th Theater Medical Command

Coalition forces and members of Joint Task Force 374 MED participated in a 5K run/ruck event in remembrance of the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001, recalling the 3,000 souls who were taken before their time. The event was organized by the joint task force MWR (Morale Welfare Recreation) team attracting coalition forces and fire and rescue teams in the area. Local contractors used two large lifts positioned in front of two fire engines, displaying a large red, white and blue American flag strung across the two lifts. The event began at the wailing sound of the fire engine lights and sirens, as runners jogged beneath a large wind-streaming American flag.
“I really appreciated seeing the fire trucks and the American flag set up. It was a nice touch,” said Capt. John Waide, EMT physician assistant. “I haven’t seen an American flag flown since I have been here. It is crazy to think that it has been 20 plus years since 9/11. It was a great opportunity to participate with other coalition force members and a great reminder of why we are here, and how we are working together. It also makes me think of the months after the attacks and how our country really came together. There was a sense of national pride and feeling patriotic. I didn’t lose any personal friends in the attacks, but I have worked with fire and rescue for decades. I know we lost a lot of brothers that day” he said.
Before the race started, CJTF-OIR Commander Surgeon & CJTF MED 374 Commander Col. Robert Gregg spoke to event participants.
“We must never forget,” said Gregg. “We must never forget how we all felt that day. We lost a lot of our sense of our safety and security. Seeing the towers destroyed, the Pentagon hit, and the visual devastation altered our lives in many ways. Our symbols of American strength and pride were attacked as thousands of lives from many nations perished.”
Looking back on the events of September 11, 2001, the day started as many fall days do. It was a Tuesday morning, and the hustle and bustle of the work week were getting underway. Then the unthinkable happened, a commercial airplane crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A terrorist network group, known as Al-Qaida, led by Osama Bin Laden, soon after took credit for the attack. The first plane crash was just the beginning as the group seized control of three other flights in mid-transport using box cutters. Then, another plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center, with another plane crashing into the Pentagon building in Arlington, Va., The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight number 93, also intended for the Pentagon, crashed into a field after passengers made a last stand against the onboard hijackers.
While all the crashes were tragic, the planes that collided into the twin towers hit hardest, claiming the lives of those on the planes, the buildings, and first responders on the ground. According to records, the event marked the single largest loss of life of emergency responders in a single day, claiming 441 emergency responders’ lives. The buildings, ignited by extremely flammable jet fuel, got so hot that they collapsed in on themselves, resulting in a huge cloud of dust and debris. Live television coverage showed desperate people jumping from smoke-filled building windows and running down the streets covered in ash. It was indeed a dark time.
“I think it is important that everyone knows what it was like pre-9/11,” said Gregg. “Those that remember need to pass on what it was like and how our role as Soldiers in the military has changed. Right now, we have Soldiers in the ranks that were not even born when 9/11 happened. They need to know how it changed our country and why we are still conducting missions,” he said.
“I remember right where I was when the towers were hit,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Byers. “I was working in the Gentry Clinic in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., at the allergy/immunization clinic. I was standing there talking a civilian about a hockey game because the TV had one of the sports stations on, and the TV suddenly changed over to the attack. Then, it was on all the channels. We really did not know what the heck was going on, and then the base went into full lockdown. There was full accountability, and they started conducting full-scale searches at all the gates and even the buildings looking for weapons. The entire base and country were put on FPCON (Force Protection Condition) Delta.”
FPCON Delta is the highest level of force protection and signifies there is an active terrorist attack occurring, and only military personnel are permitted to enter military bases. This protection was also extended to the skies. For the first time in modern history, the nation, including the entire North American continent, had all civilian air traffic halted for two days.
“They even rolled tanks up to the checkpoints and built barriers that people had to drive around to get on base,” said Byers.
“The whole atmosphere on base changed in a matter of hours.”
“It is important that we are here now continuing the mission of Combined Joint Task force Operation Inherent Resolve in defeating Daesh,” said Gregg. “Our mission is to advise, assist, and enable our partner forces against this ideology of hate.” (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Romero/released)

• Date Taken: 10.01.2022
• Date Posted: 01.04.2023 11:40
• Story ID: 434428
• Location: IQ
• Hometown: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US
• Hometown: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US