The First 109 Minutes: 9/11 Attacks and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) - NORAD, The Four Terror Flights, Air Defense Response, Post-Attack, plus Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office Review Book

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this unique USAF publication provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of the 9/11 attacks and the response of the U.S. Air Force.

Introduction * NORAD Air Defense Structure on 9/11 * Overview of the 9/11 Attacks and Summary of the Air Defense Response * American Airlines Flight 11 * United Airlines Flight 175 * American Airlines Flight 77 * United Airlines Flight 93 * The Immediate Post-Attack Period * Epilogue

The four al Qaeda hijacker-pilots and their teams commandeered the four fuel-laden commercial jets in which they were passengers and intentionally crashed them into 1 and 2 World Trade Center, in New York City; the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia; and an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This final hijacking, of United Airlines Flight 93, fell short of its intended target in Washington, D.C., because of heroic efforts by its passengers to take back control of the aircraft. The 9/11 attack, which began with the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 and was followed by the hijackings of United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77, and United Airlines Flight 93, would become, over the next two and a quarter hours, the deadliest, costliest terrorist strike in U.S. history. The 109-minute attack period itself began when American Airlines Flight 11 was attacked at or just after 8:14 a.m. EDT. It ended when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed at 10:03 a.m. EDT, but the loss of life did not. By the time 1 World Trade Center, North Tower, collapsed at 10:28 a.m. EDT, almost three thousand people had been killed or were dying; the financial center of the United States had been reduced to burning, toxic rubble; the iconic symbol of the military strength of the country had been severely damaged; the tranquility of a field in Pennsylvania had been shattered; U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard fighter aircraft had set up combat air patrols over Washington, D.C., and New York City; and the administration of President George W. Bush and the Department of Defense (DOD) had begun shifting major resources of the federal government and military services to a new national priority, homeland defense.

Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office Review Book: This is a thorough review of the Pentagon's Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office. The mission of the CTTSO is to identify and develop capabilities to combat terrorism and irregular adversaries and to deliver these capabilities to Department of Defense components and interagency partners through rapid research and development, advanced studies and technical innovation, and provision of support to U.S. military operations.

The Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office * Organization * International Program * Technical Support Working Group * History and Mission * Organization and Structure * The Technical Support Working Group Subgroups * Advanced Analytic Capabilities * Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives * Improvised Device Defeat * Investigative and Forensic Science * Personnel Protection * Physical Security * Surveillance, Collection, and Operations Support * Tactical Operations Support * Training Technology Development * Explosive Ordnance Disposal/Low-Intensity Conflict * Organization, Funding, and Program Information * Irregular Warfare Support * Organization, Funding, and Program Information * Appendix * CTTSO Transition and Innovation Office * BAA Information Delivery System (BIDS) * 2013 Membership * 2013 Performers * Glossary of Acronyms