September 11, 2001, was a day that changed everyone’s life, especially those of warfighters.

I can remember telling guys, “be careful what you wish for.” Those of us in the Special Operations community had done nothing but train for eight years. Imagine a professional athlete that did nothing but practice and never played a game. We are the pointy end of the spear and wanted to test our skills.

All of us in the AH-6 Company, B Co., 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR) had never seen combat. All the guys that were in the battle of the Black Sea in Mogadishu had retired. We were all cherries. We continued to train and stay razor-sharp in the event something happened in a far off land. Well, we sure did get what we wished for, and more.

On September 11, 2001, I was in the post’s gym getting a workout in. It was quiet since the big crowd comes in much earlier. The TVs were off, so I set my pace for a run in the treadmill.