The September 11th attack | America strikes back
Airstrikes bringing war home to local military

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

After hearing officials talk for weeks about impending U.S. attacks against Afghanistan, the real thing brought little in the way of surprise or shock for some Hawai'i-based military people and their families.

Dawn Jordan, with her children, Stacey, 11, and Ellen, 10, says "everything has changed as of today." Her husband is in the National Guard. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Dawn Jordan's husband, a Hawai'i National Guardsman, was called at 10 a.m. yesterday and "told to bring all his equipment."

"They just received orders for something," she said. "They don't know what it is yet."

Jordan's 37-year-old husband, who called in air strikes from P-3C aircraft with the Navy during the Gulf War, had forgotten his watch, and the La'ie woman was buying him one at the Wal-Mart store in Mililani.

"Everything has changed as of today," said Jordan, who also was in the Navy. "I just have this sick feeling in my stomach, and maybe a little bit of frustration, simply because those terrorists don't have the degree of conscience we have — they'll stop at nothing."

Jordan is worried about more terrorism, and she and her husband have a plan to quickly get to their children in case of an emergency.

Asked if she was concerned her husband would be deployed, Jordan said, "We're prepared for all options, all possibilities as a family.

"We just feel really good knowing he's out there fighting for us."

A 20-year-old Army private who would only give his name as Mike said the bombing is not enough.

"A lot of guys in my platoon are really upset about what happened at the World Trade Center," he said. "I'm ready for them to send in ground troops. If we just take something like this (the terrorist attacks), it's a big slap in the face, and if we don't do anything, everyone will just band together and it will be open season on the U.S."

One thousand light infantry soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., were dispatched to Uzbekistan to the north of Afghanistan. The Schofield Barracks private, part of a reconnaissance unit, figures the 25th Infantry Division (Light) also could be used.

"There are not a whole lot of light infantry units," he said. "They may not send us now, but in my opinion, it's only a matter of time."

One woman, whose husband is an Army captain based at Camp Smith, said he has been gone for about three weeks training with a supersecret commando group that could play a key role in raids in Afghanistan.

Her 33-year-old husband was due back Oct. 18, but she's not sure if that timetable is still in place.

The Waikele resident, who has a 6-year-old daughter, worries about the cycle of violence that is escalating with the waves of attacks that came in Afghanistan yesterday beginning about 6:30 a.m. Hawai'i time.

"I would like to see us catch the people responsible, but not to hurt innocent women and children," she said. "But now that we're starting to bomb, I think there's going to be another retaliation."

She added it's one thing to hear that military action in Afghanistan will be long-term, "but it's another thing to turn on the news and see it happening."

The military spouse said she also knows some pilots with the Air National Guard, and the mood yesterday at Hickam Air Force Base after the bombings was not always upbeat.

"It's their duty, it's their job, but the couple of people I know there, they are young — one pilot I know is 29 — and they will be patrolling this area, but it's kind of a small community of pilots, and I'm sure they are worried for their families," she said.

The total Reserve and National Guard call-up as of last week stood at 25,765 from 183 units and 44 states.

Hawai'i National Guard spokes-man Maj. Chuck Anthony yesterday said "there's nothing publicly I can disclose at this time" about Guard mobilization. However, he did say certain individuals can be called up at any time based on specific job skills.

Echoing the secrecy the military has adopted nationwide following the Sept. 11 attacks, Pacific Command spokesman Lt. Col. Chip Krokoski yesterday said operational deployments of troops is "something that we're not addressing at this time."

An aircraft carrier under the Pacific Command — the USS Carl Vinson whose homeport is in Bremerton, Wash. — is among the military assets in the Northern Arabian Sea. The nuclear-powered ship launched the first wave of carrier-based fighter attacks on Afghanistan. The carrier battle group has about 75 warplanes and a dozen ships, including destroyers, cruisers and attack submarines with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Krokoski said the Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., is in charge of the military action taking place, and the Pacific Command is playing a support role.

Following the assault, security measures remained at heightened levels with 100-percent ID checks at Schofield Barracks, but not at "Threat Condition Delta," the highest state of alert in place nationwide immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.