Shortly After 9:03 a.m. September 11, 2001: Pentagon Building Command Center Reacts to WTC Attacks, but Accounts Conflict over Urgency of Its Response

In the Building Operations Command Center (BOCC) inside the Pentagon, Steve Carter and his team are watching the unfolding events in New York on one of the center’s monitors. [Plugged In Quarterly, 3/2002, pp. 4-5 ] As the assistant building manager, Carter is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Pentagon. [CNN, 3/5/2002] The BOCC, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is where systems such as lighting, heating, fire safety, and security for the Pentagon all come together “through a network of thousands of sensors, actuators, and controllers.” According to Chuck Holland, a technical manager, it “has three eight-foot screens back-to-back that monitor everything.… Anything that happens inside and outside the building, we watch it.” [IEEE Spectrum, 8/2003; Engineer Update, 6/2007] After seeing the television footage of the second WTC tower being hit, Carter tells his assistant: “That’s not an accident. We have an event going.” According to some accounts, he and his team immediately begin lockdowns, securing all the mechanical and electrical areas within the Pentagon. They also begin searching for unauthorized people and unusual packages. [Plugged In Quarterly, 3/2002, pp. 4-5 ; Hi-Tech Security Solutions, 10/2004; Vogel, 2007, pp. 429] However, a report in the Washington Post suggests their response is less determined. It states that, after the second WTC crash, Carter “grew uneasy and called his boss to suggest they begin locking down electrical and mechanical rooms in the Pentagon in the event that officials upgraded building security.” The report does not say whether these actions are implemented before the Pentagon is hit at 9:37 a.m. [Washington Post, 9/11/2006] Carter also telephones the Pentagon’s Defense Protective Service and is informed that the threat condition for the building remains at “Normal” (see Shortly After 9:03 a.m. September 11, 2001). He is told that if it should change, DPS will notify the center. [Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 137] No steps are taken to evacuate the Pentagon or alert workers before it is attacked. [Vogel, 2007, pp. 429]