Command and Control

The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks struck the nation on a clear, late summer morning on the East Coast. Hijackers used jet airliners as weapons, flying them into New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. One hijacked plane crashed in a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This terrorist attack was an unprecedented event in American history. At Ground Zero, thousands of first responders, including 2,400 National Guard soldiers, were activated into a search and rescue mission by Gov. George Pataki. The already-established Emergency Management Office - EMO - in New York City which included the presence of the Army National Guard, NYPD and NYFD, was located in Building 7. That building, which had existed within the World Trade Center site, was demolished. The first responders, Headquarters 53rd Troop Command, were given authority to be in command and control of the 2,400 National Guard soldiers who had been activated to duty on 9/11. Sept. 11, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of this terrorist attack. Ron Sardanopoli, author of "Command and Control," allows you to hear from first responders - those who rushed to Ground Zero to serve on this horrific mission. Their recollections of 20 years ago are still branded on their memory banks, beginning when the first jetliner hit 1 World Trade Center building. The author takes the reader to the rigorous training our men and women in the Army National Guard had so they could function effectively in a chaotic catastrophic operation. "Command and Control" goes behind the scenes to the basic education that converts a civilian to a soldier with the United States Army. That behind-the-scenes look instituted many years ago and still working today. It includes the Army's remarkable methods of changing a civilian's mindset from being a civilian into being a soldier...a soldier who can operate in support of any military combat, humanitarian or disaster relief mission to include the search and rescue mission given to the Headquarters 53rd Troop Command at Ground Zero on 9/11.