Gen. Dan Caine reflects on responding to 9/11 attacks: "No doubt" nation was at war

Gen. Dan Caine Describes Military Response to September 11 Attacks

By CBS News Staff

Updated September 12, 2024

As first responders converged on the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001, U.S. military units also initiated immediate operational measures. Gen. Dan Caine, then serving as chief of Weapons and Tactics for the 121st Fighter Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, recounted the sequence of events to CBS News correspondent Norah O'Donnell.

Caine stated that he had entered a scheduling meeting when a staff member reported that an aircraft had struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He and other personnel observed live television coverage as a second aircraft struck the South Tower at 9:03 a.m.

"I still remember to this day, Norah, what I felt and what I thought as we all watched that news helicopter camera filming the burning tower," Caine said. "What I felt and thought when the second airplane entered that shot and hit the second tower. I knew right away that our nation was under attack, and we began to move right into action immediately."

Caine said there was no doubt that the United States was in a state of armed conflict and directed the squadron to begin preparations. He ordered the movement of base weapons, including air-to-air missiles. With smoke visible from the Pentagon, Caine received a telephone call from the White House directing the squadron to launch aircraft to defend Washington, D.C. He described the rules of engagement as very liberal.

The squadron received orders to attempt interception of United Airlines Flight 93, which had been seized by hijackers with the reported intention of striking a federal building in the capital. The aircraft instead crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers entered the cockpit.

Caine attributed the decision authority to wing commander Brig. Gen. Dave Wherley. "They put the responsibility on us, and they came to our wing commander, Brig. Gen. Dave Wherley," Caine said. "He said something that I'll never, ever forget. He said, 'Look, Dan, I don't know what you're going to have to do out there, but I know you're going to do the right thing. I trust you.'"

Two aircraft launched without missiles. Squadron operations officer Lt. Col. Mark Sasseville and wingman Heather Penney piloted those jets. In a 2021 interview with CBS News, both stated they had planned to ram their aircraft into the hijacked plane if interception became necessary. Penney noted that the military does not assign suicide missions but that the circumstances on September 11 required the action.

Caine's aircraft carried live missiles. All civilian aircraft had been ordered to vacate the Washington, D.C., airspace, with instructions that noncompliant aircraft would be engaged. Caine recalled the moment he realized he might be required to fire on a commercial airliner. "I remember thinking, 'Wait a minute, that's me that's going to do the shooting here,'" he said. "And I think the biggest thing that ran through my mind is the, sort of, the fighter jet pilot prayer: 'Dear God, please don't let me screw this up.' I just want to get out there and be able to do my job, to think through chaos, to remain calm through uncertainty, and if possible, protect the country."

Because Flight 93 crashed after passenger intervention, Caine did not engage any aircraft. He credited the passengers with preventing further damage to targets in Washington. "We take an oath in the military to protect and defend the United States of America," Caine said. "They got on an airliner, and yet they were the first ones that fought back in those dark, dark moments on September 11."

Caine also noted the actions of emergency personnel at the attack sites. "That is what makes our country great: to set aside that uncertainty and that fear and move towards the problem for somebody else," he said.

Caine stated that the events of September 11 altered his understanding of military service. "I don't think I understood what it means to serve this country until September 11," he said. "You know, I was probably a young fighter pilot who thought it was cool to fly jets, but then it got very real on September 11 and the days that followed, and the examples that the American people got on that day of courage, tenacity, grit, patriotism, remain a gift in many ways for me 25 years later."

The 121st Fighter Squadron operated under the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Caine later rose to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.