A training exercises is held in which hundreds of personnel from the military and other government agencies practice their response to a terrorist attack at the Pentagon involving chemical weapons. The exercise, which lasts about 10 hours, is called “Cloudy Office,” and is run by the Defense Protective Service (DPS)—the law enforcement agency that guards the Pentagon—and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Over 500 people from federal, state, and local agencies take part. [BBC, 5/31/1998; American Forces Press Service, 6/9/1998; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 151]
Scenario Involves Terrorists Taking Pentagon Staffers Hostage – Cloudy Office is based around a scenario in which nine pro-Iraqi terrorists, armed with pistols and shotguns, split off from a group of tourists at the Pentagon, burst into Secretary of Defense William Cohen’s office, and take Cohen’s staff hostage. The mock terrorists have with them a gallon jug of liquid simulating sarin, a liter bottle of diluted sarin, and an explosive device. They threaten to release the sarin—a lethal nerve gas—if their demands are not met. Someone accidentally knocks over the jug in the confusion, thereby releasing lethal fumes throughout the Pentagon. Hazardous material teams from local fire departments arrive at the scene and set up decontamination facilities, and military medical personnel set up triage units to treat potential sarin victims. Meanwhile, members of the DPS go into the Pentagon to negotiate with the mock terrorists. Eventually the mock terrorists release the hostages and surrender. [Tulsa World, 5/31/1998; Washington Post, 5/31/1998; American Forces Press Service, 6/9/1998] Twenty-six people are killed and 100 contaminated by the sarin gas in the scenario, with the mock victims being played by military employees. [CNN, 5/30/1998; American Forces Press Service, 6/9/1998; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 151]
Pentagon Is Seen as a Potential Terrorist Target – Cloudy Office has been four months in the planning and is by far the largest exercise of its kind to be held in metropolitan Washington, DC. [Washington Post, 5/31/1998; American Forces Press Service, 6/9/1998] It was prompted partly by the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which killed 12 commuters. [CNN, 5/30/1998; Washington Post, 5/31/1998; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 151] It is part of an effort to improve America’s ability to respond to incidents involving chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. The Pentagon was selected as the location for the exercise because, as an international symbol of the United States military, it is considered a plausible terrorist target, according to John Jester, chief of the DPS. Agencies that participate include the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Army Pentagon Medical Facility; the Washington Metropolitan Strike Force; the FBI; Arlington County, Virginia, fire and rescue departments; hazardous material teams; and the Virginia Office of Public Health. [Tulsa World, 5/31/1998; American Forces Press Service, 6/9/1998]
9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001: Pentagon Law Enforcement Deputy Finally Makes Call to Raise Alert Level
At the time the Pentagon is struck, a member of the Defense Protective Service (DPS), which guards the Pentagon, is in the process of ordering the threat level be raised. John Pugrud, the deputy chief of the DPS, has met with DPS Chief John Jester, and Jester directed him to instruct the DPS Communications Center to raise the Force Protection Condition up one level, from Normal to Alpha (see (Shortly Before 9:37 a.m.) September 11, 2001). The moment the Pentagon is hit, Pugrud has the phone in his hand to dial the center. When his call is answered, he can hear the center’s alarms activating and radio calls taking place. The dispatcher yells: “We’ve been hit! We’ve been hit! Wedge one. Wedge one.” According to the Defense Department’s book about the Pentagon attack, no one in DPS has received any warning of a hijacked aircraft heading toward Washington. [Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 152] No steps have been taken to alert Pentagon employees or evacuate the building. [Vogel, 2007, pp. 429] Around 30 minutes after the attack occurs, the US military will increase its threat level to Defcon Delta, the highest possible level (see (Between 10:10 a.m. and 10:35 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [CNN, 9/4/2002] This will be reduced to “Charlie” before the end of the week. [US Department of Defense, 9/16/2001; USA Today, 9/16/2001]
9:42 a.m. September 11, 2001: Arlington County Police Department Starts Establishing Security around the Pentagon Site
The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) begins securing the perimeter of the Pentagon Reservation just minutes after the Pentagon attack occurred. [Washington Post, 9/20/2001; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 162; Defense Media Network, 9/11/2015] Corporal Barry Foust and Officer Richard Cox of the ACPD witnessed the attack on the Pentagon, at 9:37 a.m. (see 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001), and immediately called the Arlington County Emergency Communications Center to report what they had seen (see (9:36 a.m.-9:39 a.m.) September 11, 2001). ACPD headquarters then sent a pager message to all members of the department with instructions to report for duty, thereby initiating an immediate response to the incident.
Arlington Police Take Charge of Security – Lieutenant Robert Medairos was the first ACPD command-level official to reach the scene and took command of the department’s response there. [US Department of Health and Human Services, 7/2002, pp. C6-C7 
] While the Defense Protective Service (DPS)—the law enforcement agency that guards the Pentagon—has exclusive jurisdiction within the Pentagon Reservation, the ACPD has jurisdiction around it. [US Department of Health and Human Services, 7/2002, pp. C1 ; Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1/31/2006 ; Defense Media Network, 9/11/2019] Medairos therefore promptly comes to an arrangement with the DPS for the ACPD to secure the perimeter of the Reservation.
Police Close All Roads around the Pentagon – Along with his colleagues Lieutenant Brian Berke and Sergeant James Daly, he assesses the road network conditions and identifies 27 intersections that require immediate police posting. [US Department of Health and Human Services, 7/2002, pp. C7 ; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 162] At 9:42 a.m., he orders the closure of all roads surrounding the Pentagon. [Washington Post, 9/20/2001] Berke and Daly take action to keep all traffic except emergency vehicles off the feeder roads to Route 27, just west of the crash site. Police officers close Route 27 to regular traffic and prevent first responders from blocking emergency lanes or parking their vehicles haphazardly. The Pentagon’s parking lot and the field adjacent to it are cordoned off, and guards are posted around the perimeter. [US Department of Health and Human Services, 7/2002, pp. C7 ; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 162] Sniper teams are set up to monitor the local highways. ACPD officers monitor traffic around the area and screen pedestrians entering the crash site. Anyone delivering equipment has to be escorted to the Pentagon by police officers. [Middletown Press, 1/29/2002]
Other Police Departments Will Assist the Response – The ACPD has a memorandum of understanding with all the other police departments in the area and it calls these departments to request assistance. [Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1/31/2006 ] Consequently, by 11:00 a.m., over 100 law enforcement officers will have reported to the staging area at the Pentagon. Along with members of the ACPD, officers will have come from Fairfax County Police Department, Alexandria Police Department, Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, Arlington County Park Rangers, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Captain Rebecca Hackney will soon take over from Medairos as the commander of the ACPD at the Pentagon. Deputy Chief Stephen Holl, who was at a meeting in Richmond, Virginia, when the Pentagon attack occurred, immediately heads back to Arlington after hearing what happened, and will arrive at the ACPD command post at the Pentagon around midday and take over command of the ACPD from Hackney. [US Department of Health and Human Services, 7/2002, pp. C6-C7, C13 ; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 162, 164]
September 12, 2001: People Disguised as Firefighters Arrested at Pentagon
The Defense Protective Service (DPS)—the law enforcement agency that guards the Pentagon—arrests three people at the Pentagon who are dressed in firefighting gear but are not firefighters. Further details of who these people are and why they are at the Pentagon are unstated. John Jester, the chief of the DPS, later reflects: “When you have a major event, certain people are like moths around a light bulb. They come to the scene as thrill seekers.” Reportedly, incident command, DPS, and FBI officials are worried by the “absence of an effective identification system to control the large number of people that [are passing] through the outer perimeter fence to support firefighting and recovery operations” at the Pentagon. [Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 170]
