This morning at about 8:15 a.m. in Baghdad, the Soldiers of the 314th PAOC that were on duty at the CPIC gathered to recognize those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  It was a moving ceremony, with a beautifully written message from LTC Perez, our unit commander. 

At the end, the commander asked us for a moment of silence, and to contemplate that eventful day.  Though I was assigned to the Pentagon on that day, I was not there.  Instead, I was on leave in Sweden.  At 8:46 a.m. New York time eight years ago, I was running around Stockholm enjoying the cool weather and sunshine, and then headed back to the youth hostel where I was staying in the downtown area. 

As I arrived, I remember seeing all the young people crying and watching TV.  They told me that the United States had been attacked, and they didn’t seem know what to do.  They were all in their early 20s.

I don’t remember a lot, but I do remember feeling so much older than them…and I was…38.  I felt responsible for helping them.  I told them not to worry, that this attack was isolated and was carried out by just a small group of people and that we would be okay.  I am not sure if I helped calm them, but I do remember telling them to call their parents and other loved ones back home to tell them they were fine here in Sweden.

I called people I knew back at work in DC, and told them I would get back as quickly as possible.  It took me almost two weeks. 

When I did get back, I knew it would never be the same.  I could see the people I knew had changed.  Maybe they didn’t notice it, since they were there and lived throught it, but I did.  It seemed that every time a plane flew by or a Metro train rumbled, there was a sense of foreboding. 

Eight years later, that change has not gone away.  The world I knew before seems to be gone forever.  Or, maybe that world was never really there at all.  Maybe that world existed only in my naivete.  I know we Americans sometimes look at the world in a different way that others.  We seems to insulate ourselves.

Well, I am no longer insulating myself.  I am here in Iraq, serving with some of the Army’s top Public Affairs Soldiers.  Most joined after that day eight years ago, knowing that they would be here….and for some this is their second or third deployment since then.

As I stood with them this morning, in my moment of silence, I thought about those young men and women in Stockholm.  And then I realized, maybe everything has not changed completely.  I think I will tell them to call their parents and loved ones and tell they are well…and not to worrry.

Soldiers of the 314th PAOC in formation listen to the words of LTC Ignacio Perez.

SSG Bryan Tull (left) and SFC Adam Daley raise the flag to half staff.

The Soldiers of the 314th render a salute to honor the flag and those who lost their lives in the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the men and women of the U.S. military who lost their lives since then protecting our Nation. (Photos by SPC Brittany Gardner)