To the caves of Tora Bora

Sea Power, Jan 2002 by Brill, Arthur P Jr

Taliban Learns the Meaning of "The Marines Have Landed"

Thanks to advance planning on the part of his predecessors, the Marine Corps was "ahead of the breaking wave" in the new war on international terrorism, said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones-shown here (center, right, with Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Afford L. McMichael) meeting with Marines at the conclusion of the amphibious phase of Exercise Bright Star in Egypt on 23 October 2001.

The Navy Annex Building on Columbia Pike in Arlington, Va., was the last sight some of the passengers on American Airlines Flight 77 saw before it sliced into the Pentagon on 11 September. With its landing gear down, the Boeing 757 flew so low that it shook the Annex and rattled windows. The Marines inside the Annex thought a freight train had passed overhead.

"My assistant ran into my office and said, `That was a cruise missile!' A moment later, we heard the crash," recalls Lt. Gen. Gary S. McKissock, deputy commandant for installations and logistics. Miraculously, no Marines were killed at the Pentagon, but several were injured, including Peter M. Murphy, the commandant's counselor. The plane hit so dangerously near some Marine offices, including those assigned to Marine aviation, that they had to be destroyed.

The head of Marine air, Lt. Gen. William L. Nyland, was at a meeting in another part of the building when the crash occurred. The attack was a total surprise. There had been no fire drills at the Pentagon for some time, but instinct and military discipline resulted in an orderly evacuation. Nyland exited through the River Entrance and worked his way through the turmoil-and through aircraft debris-to the heliport area not far from where his office spaces were.

"My heart went into my throat," Nyland said. "I thought, `Oh, my God! Amelia, Pat, Bruce-the admin folks across the hall-I might never see them again.' It took a long two-and-a-half hours to find out they were okay."

Nyland got the good news at what became his post-9-11 offices, in the Navy Annex Building next to Arlington National Cemetery. Amid the flames, dense smoke, and shock, those Marines not involved in rescue work formed a line of "green," from private to general, as they instinctively trudged up the hill to the Annex. There was work to do.

"It was like displacing a command post," said Lt. Gen. Emil R. Bedard, deputy commandant for plans, policy, and operations, who stayed at his Pentagon desk with his Marines until smoke darkened the hallway.

Back to the Family Home

The Annex, originally a WWII military hospital, served as Marine Headquarters (HQMC) for many decades until the Corps moved to the Pentagon in the mid-1990s. Several HQMC staff sections are still housed there, including the Marine command center. Other offices were kept functional with backup phones and computers.

"Thank goodness for old 'HQMC,' because we were back in business within 30 minutes of that airplane hitting," said Assistant Commandant Gen. Michael J. Williams. "All I had to do was walk up the hill and turn the lights on."

Soon, the Annex was "one big family." Because the Navy's Pentagon spaces were hit so hard and its command center was destroyed, Marine Commandant Gen. James L. Jones invited several of his Navy counterparts and their staffs to co-locate with the Corps. The Marines made room, the Navy reestablished its command center, and for the first days of this new type of war the Annex's halls bustled with busy people in Navy blue as well as Marine green.

"It shows the utility of a backup command post," said Jones. "The continuity of our command and control never changed."

The reality that Washington, D.C., was, is, and for the foreseeable future probably will be a target hit home on 11 September, but the well-rehearsed contingency plan to evacuate the nation's leadership by air was not used. The Corps uses the Annex for "lesser" incidents, real and simulated, and the other services are now considering the establishment of alternate locations as well. In addition, all of the nation's service chiefs, including Jones, are thinking about working in offices more distant from their deputies than at present.

"These are wartime conditions with two schools of thought. Either fortify one location or spread out," said Jones. "Where does a service chief go to show a different face in Washington? We know where the Marine commandant goes."

While the Pentagon's fires were still raging, the senior Navy-Marine leadership was busy assessing the suddenly changed situation in an historic afternoon meeting in Annex conference room #2206, familiar to HQMC Marines who had served during the Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm eras. The meeting was chaired by Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England; the Navy's uniformed leaders sat on one side of the table, the Marines on the other.

"Each staff officer assessed his responsibilities in a deliberate and reasoned manner. They quickly regained their balance while that building burned," recalled McKissock.