Shortly After 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001: Army Vice Chief of Staff Keane Goes to Help People near the Pentagon Crash Site before Heading to His Operations Center

General John Keane, vice chief of staff of the Army, initially goes to assist people near the crash site after the Pentagon is hit but subsequently goes to the Army Operations Center (AOC) in the basement of the Pentagon to help the military respond to the terrorist attacks. Keane ordered Major General Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s director of operations, readiness, and mobilization, to bring the AOC up to full manning after he learned a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center (see (Between 8:49 a.m. and 9:02 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [Fordham News, 9/10/2016; Weekly Standard, 9/11/2016] The AOC is “the Army’s command and control center,” according to Chiarelli. [Soldiers, 9/2004] It is “the place that people will migrate” to during an emergency, according to Brigadier General Clyde Vaughn, the Army’s deputy director of operations, readiness, and mobilization. [US Army Center of Military History, 2/12/2002] And yet Keane did not go there himself in response to the attacks on the WTC and was still in his office when the Pentagon was hit. Although his office is located far away from where the attack occurred, it shook violently from the impact and subsequently started filling with smoke.
Keane Tells His Staffers to Go Home – Following the attack, Keane tells his immediate staff to call home and then evacuate. “Look, call your homes right now and make sure everybody knows you’re alright,” he says, “and then I want you to all to leave the building immediately.” He keeps just his executive officer and his aide with him, and decides to head to the scene of the attack. “Let’s go on down there and see if we can help some of these people,” he says. Keane and his colleagues grab some T-shirts, soak them in water, and wrap them around their noses and mouths for protection. They then make their way toward the crash site.
Keane Is Advised to Go to the Operations Center – About 100 yards from it, the smoke becomes thicker. People there are running away from the area of the attack. Keane and his two colleagues take time ensuring that everyone is able to get out of the Pentagon. After a while, though, Keane’s executive officer determines that they should be in the AOC. He tells Keane: “Look, you’ve got to take charge of the Army, so let’s get to the operations center. We’ll leave the recovery to other people.” “I knew immediately that he was right,” Keane will later comment. He and his two colleagues therefore go to the AOC. [Fordham News, 9/10/2016; Weekly Standard, 9/11/2016]
Keane Provides ‘Leadership and Guidance’ – When they get there, Keane talks to Chiarelli, who went to the operations center before the Pentagon was hit, and asks him for a situation report. Chiarelli says what he currently knows about the attacks. “I was able to tell [Keane] basically what had occurred at the World Trade Center,” he will recall, adding, “We were able to tell him that the [Pentagon] had been hit—he knew the building had been hit—and that there were other aircraft in the air.” [US Army Center of Military History, 2/5/2002; Lofgren, 2011, pp. 100] Keane subsequently provides “leadership and guidance” to the personnel in the AOC, according to a report published by the Army. [Christopher N. Koontz, 2011, pp. 56 ] He apparently stays in the operations center for the rest of the day. [Fordham News, 9/10/2016; Weekly Standard, 9/11/2016] Other senior Army leaders also go to the AOC following the attack on the Pentagon. [US Army Center of Military History, 2/5/2002; Rossow, 2003, pp. 67; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 135]