I remember it vividly. I was getting ready for work, had just gotten done shaving. I turned on the TV and saw the footage of the first plane striking the first tower playing over and over. I immediately became outraged, I knew without question that this was no accident. A few minutes later, after my mind raced about my current military situation (I had just completed my 6-year enlistment in the Army Reserve with 2 years left on my "inactive" period), the second plane struck. I became absolutely infuriated. I rushed to get my clothes on and I called my mother on my cell phone. She was watching it play out as well. I then hung up and called my wife and she was literally in shock. We discussed briefly my military situation and decided within minutes that the best option for me was to immediately go down to the recruiting depot and talk about getting back in my Military Police unit I had left back in May. The recruiter told me to come back tomorrow as they were all on high alert and likely would not have time to do the paperwork. I then called my former unit and checked in with them to let them know to add me back to the roles and that I would bring the paperwork by the next day.
At this point, I rushed into work where I worked as the Systems Administrator. I remember walking past the smoking area and being disgusted by the people there. They were laughing and joking and having a good time. I was in "soldier mode" where I bark orders and $hit happens. I yelled at them, "Stop fvcking laughing and joking! Our nation is under attack a$$holes! Two airliners just smashed into the World Trade Center towers. I suggest you start contacting family who lives in New York if you have them." They immediately looked at me like I was crazy, but I knew most of them well enough that they knew something serious had happened.
I walked in and talked with my director and let him know that I was likely going to be called to action by my Reserve unit. He is a retired Command Sergeant Major, so he understood well what I meant. I told him I would call to the nearby installation's MP station and ask if they required my assistance. They declined and were still working on deploying armed soldiers to all the access points to the gates and conducting full-on vehicle inspections. I listened intently on any streaming radio that I could once at work because my FM radio didn't work in my office near the server room. I remember searching frantically for streaming sites that worked while checking the ATOT thread time and again for updated links that worked, but usually the ATOT effect kicked in and the link became overwhelmed.
Finally, the next day came and I went and saw the recruiter. He drafted the paperwork and I hand carried it to my old unit. No sooner did I hand them the document did the fax machine come alive and a sheet of paper came out. It was the warning order for my unit's activation. I had to report to my unit on the 15th of September, 2001 for briefings and in-processing. On the 29th of September I was officially activated and conducting law enforcement duties on the stateside installation I live near. That continued until August of 2003.
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