A Personal Reflection on How 9/11 Shaped Military Service and National Purpose
There are moments in history that divide time itself, before and after, then and now, the world as it was and the world as it became. For my generation of service members, September 11, 2001, was that moment. Not just because of what happened that day, but because of where we were when it happened, and how everything that came after it was shaped.
I was in basic training when the towers fell. Just a week before, our drill sergeants had put us through what they called a "mobilization scare"—telling us we were being deployed to Africa as security forces. We thought it was another training exercise, another test of our readiness and resolve. We had no idea that in seven days, the entire trajectory of our military careers—and our nation's history—would change forever.
The Moment Everything Changed
I'll never forget that morning. The drill sergeants gathered all of us into a room, their faces more serious than we'd ever seen them. They turned on every news station available, and we watched in stunned silence as the second plane hit the South Tower. The room was dead quiet except for the voices of news anchors trying to make sense of the unthinkable.
Then our drill sergeant spoke words that still echo in my mind today: "This is real. We don't know what is going to happen yet, but someone will answer for this."
In that moment, everything we thought we knew about our military service changed. What had been training exercises and hypothetical scenarios suddenly became urgent preparation for a very real war. The mobilization scare from the week before wasn't just a drill anymore—it was a preview of what our lives would become.
From Training to Purpose
Up until September 11th, basic training had been about discipline, fitness, and learning military skills. We knew we were preparing to serve our country, but for many of us, it felt somewhat abstract. We were in peacetime, after all. The Cold War was over, and major conflicts seemed like things that happened to previous generations.
But watching those towers fall, seeing the Pentagon burning, learning about Flight 93's heroic passengers—suddenly our training had context. We weren't just learning to march and shoot and follow orders. We were preparing to defend our homeland against an enemy that had just proven they would stop at nothing to hurt innocent Americans.
The atmosphere in basic training changed immediately. Our drill sergeants, many of whom were veterans of previous conflicts, brought a new intensity to our instruction. They knew, even if we didn't fully grasp it yet, that many of us would soon be deploying to combat zones that didn't even exist on September 10th.
A Generation Forged by Fire
What happened to me and my fellow trainees that day happened to thousands of service members across all branches of the military. We became part of what would later be called the "9/11 Generation"—men and women whose military careers were defined not by the peacetime service we might have expected, but by nearly two decades of continuous combat operations.
Some of my fellow trainees from that day would go on to serve multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others would find themselves in places we'd never heard of before—conducting operations in Syria, Somalia, Niger, and dozens of other locations around the world. All of us carried with us the memory of that moment when we realized our service would be different from what we'd imagined.
The week before 9/11, when they told us about the mobilization to Africa, it felt like a game. After 9/11, we understood that mobilization—real mobilization—was not just possible but inevitable. We would be called upon to serve, to deploy, to put our lives on the line for our country. And we were ready.
The Weight of Purpose
What struck me most in the days and weeks following 9/11 was how our sense of purpose crystallized. Before that day, we were young people who had chosen military service for various reasons—college money, family tradition, a desire to serve, or simply not knowing what else to do. After that day, we had a mission that was crystal clear: protect America and Americans from those who would do us harm.
This clarity of purpose sustained us through everything that followed. Through the long deployments, the dangerous missions, the loss of friends and fellow service members, the strain on families, and the challenges of coming home to a country that often didn't fully understand what we'd experienced. We knew why we were there. We had seen with our own eyes what happened when America's enemies succeeded in their plans.
The flag took on new meaning for us too. Before 9/11, it was a symbol we respected and honored. After 9/11, it became something we carried into battle, something worth bleeding for, something that represented not just our country but the innocent people who had died that day and all the innocent people we were sworn to protect.
Lessons in Leadership and Sacrifice
Those drill sergeants who gathered us in that room on September 11th taught us something profound that day, though we might not have realized it at the time. They showed us what leadership looks like in a crisis—calm, direct, honest about uncertainty, but absolutely clear about commitment.
"Someone will answer for this," they said. They didn't know who, they didn't know when, they didn't know how. But they knew that America would respond, and they knew that we, their trainees would be part of that response. They were preparing us not just for military service, but for the reality that our generation would bear the burden of that response.
Over the years that followed, as I served alongside the men and women who were with me that day, I watched that lesson play out again and again. In Iraq and Afghanistan, in training exercises and real-world missions, in moments of crisis and routine operations, we carried with us the understanding that when America is attacked, Americans answer.
The Continuing Mission
Twenty-four years later, the mission that began for us on September 11th continues. Many of the service members who were in basic training that day are now senior leaders, passing on to a new generation the lessons we learned and the purpose that shaped us.
The threats have evolved, the battlefields have changed, and the nature of warfare itself has transformed. But the fundamental truth remains the same: there are people in this world who want to harm innocent Americans, and it's our job to stop them.
For those of us who were forged in the fires of 9/11, this isn't just a job—it's a calling. We've seen what happens when evil goes unchecked. We've witnessed the price of freedom and the cost of security. We understand that the peace and prosperity Americans enjoy doesn't happen by accident, it's protected by people willing to stand guard, to deploy when called, to sacrifice when necessary.
Honoring the Fallen, Continuing the Fight
Every September 11th, I think about my fellow service members who didn't make it home. The ones who answered the call that began for us in that basic training classroom, who deployed to distant battlefields, who gave everything in service to their country and their fellow Americans.
I think about the families who lost loved ones that day—not just in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, but in the wars that followed. Gold Star families who understand better than anyone the true cost of freedom and the weight of sacrifice.
And I think about the young men and women currently serving, many of whom weren't even born when the towers fell, but who carry forward the mission we began. They serve in a military shaped by our experiences, guided by lessons learned in two decades of combat, committed to the same purpose that crystallized for us on September 11, 2001.
The Flag Still Flies
Today, when I see the American flag, I don't just see a symbol of our nation. I see the faces of everyone who was in that room with me on September 11th. I see the determination in our drill sergeants' eyes when they told us, someone would answer for the attacks. I see the resolve of a generation of warriors who stepped forward when their country needed them most.
The flag flies over memorials to the fallen, over military bases around the world, over the homes of Gold Star families, and over the communities we've sworn to protect. It flies as a reminder that America will always answer when challenged, that there are still people willing to stand between evil and innocence, and that the mission that began for us on September 11th continues today.
A Personal Promise
To my fellow 9/11 generation veterans: we did what we said we'd do. We answered for what happened that day. We served with honor, fought with courage, and sacrificed with purpose. Some of us are still serving, others have transitioned to civilian life, but all of us carry forward the mission and the meaning of that day.
To the families of the fallen: your loved ones' sacrifice was not in vain. The mission they died for continues, carried forward by those who served beside them and those who follow in their footsteps.
To current service members: you serve in a military forged by the experiences of September 11th and the wars that followed. The lessons we learned, the tactics we developed, the brotherhood we built—all of it is your inheritance. Use it well, honor it deeply, and know that you stand in a proud tradition of Americans who answer when called.
And to all Americans: the freedom you enjoy, the security you feel, the peace you live in, none of it is guaranteed. It's protected by people who remember September 11th, who understand what's at stake, and who remain ready to answer when America calls.
Twenty-four years later, we're still here. We're still watching. We're still ready.
Someone did answer for September 11th. We did. And we always will.
Cole Werner is a Master Sergeant in the US Army Reserves and CEO of Baldwin Priesmeyer, a veteran-owned flag company that has been serving communities since 1908. He hosts "Your Battle's Rally Point," a podcast for veterans and service members, and remains committed to honoring those who serve and have served our nation.
September 11th: The Day That Forged a Generation of Warriors