9:07 a.m. September 11, 2001: Secret Service Contacts Army ‘Collapse Team’ and Requests Help

An agent in the Secret Service’s technical security division (TSD) is instructed to contact the “structural collapse team” at Fort Belvoir—an Army base 12 miles south of Washington, DC—and request its assistance. At 9:07 a.m., according to a Secret Service chronology, the agent is “advised to alert the [Department of Defense] structural collapse team… at Fort Belvoir.” The “alert,” according to the chronology, will “instruct all of the structural collapse personnel associated with the special program that the Secret Service may have a need for their assets, and they should report to their duty station.” [United States Secret Service, 9/12/2001]
Military Unit Specializes in ‘Collapsed-Building Rescue’ – Although its name is unstated, the “structural collapse team” is presumably the Military District of Washington (MDW) Engineer Company, which is based at Fort Belvoir. The MDW Engineer Company’s mission, according to one of its members, “involves rescue from collapsed structures in the national capital area.” [MDW News Service, 9/23/2001] It is “the only unit in the US Army that specializes in collapsed-building rescue.” [Fort Belvoir News, 4/4/2002] The MDW Engineer Company includes 76 soldiers, and has equipment such as bulldozers, bucket loaders, and dump trucks. [Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 96] The reason why the Secret Service requests its help is unstated.
Collapse Team Put on ‘Alert Status’ – At an unspecified time later in the day, the TSD duty desk will receive a call from a supervisor, who says the “structural collapse team” is “on alert status.” The unit is put on “30-minute standby” for the White House. [United States Secret Service, 2001, pp. 10-11] The MDW Engineer Company will also be asked to deploy to the Pentagon in response to the attack there, and its personnel will arrive at the Pentagon between around 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. [Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 96] They will be involved in the rescue and recovery operations there for the next 10 days. [Belvoir Eagle, 2/16/2012] The Secret Service’s TSD, which contacts the MDW Engineer Company, has numerous responsibilities that include providing “technical and physical protection for all designated Secret Service protectees by ensuring a safe environment,” and identifying “threats or hazards at any given site” and implementing countermeasures. [United States Secret Service, 2009, pp. 53 ]