NBG 9-11 CRR INTERVIEW TEMPLATE

INTERVIEW DATE: 4/03/2002

INTERVIEW TIME: 1330-1515

PART 1 (Who?):

ORGANIZATION DATABASE ID:

INTERVIEW POC: Name: Mr. John Jester

Address: Chief, Defense Protective Services (DPS)

1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155

Telephone: 703-588-8183 FAX: 703-588-0103

E-Mail: JNJester@ref.whs.mil

PART 2 (Where and What?):

VENUE (Check one or more):

D World Trade Center, NYC

^ Pentagon, Arlington, VA
D Shanksville, PA

OPERATING LOCATION (Identify/Describe specific site of operations):

At the Pentagon venue, Mr. John Jester, Chief, Defense Protective Services (DPS), Pentagon, served as
the senior law enforcement/security person in support of the Incident Commander for security of the
Pentagon, and provided direct security support for the Incident Commander and FBI for the crash site and
related crime scene areas within and around the Pentagon. The DPS has Law Enforcement authority as
Federal Police Officers, and can conduct criminal investigations.

RESPONSE FUNCTIONS (Check any/all that apply):

D Hazardous Materials
D Transportation Environmental Protection
[3 Communications Food Supply
D Public Works/Water Supply D Electric Power
D Firefighting n Oil and Gas
[x] Information and Planning [H Pipelines
CD Mass Care C] Banking and Finance
^ Logistics/Resource Support ^ Law Enforcement
D Public Health and Medical D Continuity of Government
D Mental/Spiritual Health D Site Safety
[3 Urban Search and Rescue E3 Site Security
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D Legal £3 Command and Control

D Public Affairs ^ Evacuation
D Community Affairs

PART 3 (How. When, and Why?):

TRAINING:

Chief Jester stated that, because of routine exercises conducted at least once a year with Arlington County,
both Defense Protective Services (DPS) and the County were leaning forward when the 9-11 incident
occurred at the Pentagon. Both the Incident Command System (ICS) and the Unified Command System
(DCS) had been exercised during these exercises conducted at least yearly. This produced a good
knowledge of the ICS and DCS and working relationships with subsequent building of trust that was key to
the successful rescue, fire control and crime scene security. To paraphrase Chief Jester, "knowledge plus
practice equals trust, and trust was essential to their success that day." Chief Jester personally knew many
of the leaders and liaison officials of the other responding departments and agencies. Another significant
area revealed and resolved through exercises with Arlington County was the fact that the Pentagon Medical
Clinic (DiLorenzo) and Arlington County Emergency Medical Services used different terminology in their
triage process.
The FBI had recently conducted a rehearsal for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings and had
set up a Joint Operations Center (JOC) at Fort Myer. When 9-11 occurred, the JOC was established there,
because much of the required communications equipment was already in place. Many of the lessons
learned from 9-11for DPS have been incorporated into training programs including learning to use the two-
man fireman's carry to rescue incapacitated victims. Drills conducted quarterly (for various parts of the
building) prior to 9-11 helped to prepare for evacuation during 9-11 particularly moving people outside of the
building. Although not scheduled as training, a significant event that added to the preparedness for 9-11
was a fire about two weeks prior to 9-11 (August 2001) which filled half of the building with smoke.
Because of this event DPS learned that the public address and warning system was inadequate and had
applied sufficient fixes by 9-11 that they could communicate to 3 of the 5 wedge areas in the Pentagon.
There were two plans in effect at the time of the attack - The Pentagon Building Security and Emergency
Procedures Guide, and the Pentagon Evacuation Planning Guide, both of which presented the DPS as the
Pentagon Incident Command for any emergency.
One of the success stories of the evacuation and response was that only the occupants who were in the
path of the airplane were killed or injured. Over 20,000 other occupants got out without any injuries.

NOTIFICATION:

When the second plane went into the World Trade Center (WTC), Chief Jester had raised the Terrorist
Force Protection Condition (THREATCON) from Normal to Alpha. Chief Jester was just departing his office
when the plane hit the Pentagon. He felt the impact. He could not see the fireball, but because of what
occurred at the WTC earlier, he knew that this was a big event. He went immediately to the DPS
communications center to determine the status of their response/contact with Arlington County Fire
Department, and air evacuation, and then proceeded to the crash site. The DPS commo center was
overwhelmed by phonecalls from building occupants wanting to know what happened.

RESPONSES/RESOURCES:
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At the time of the attack on the Pentagon approximately 60 officers were on duty at DPS. The DPS officers
who are responsible for the security and law enforcement in and around the Pentagon immediately began
the rescue of victims and those trapped in the building. Evacuation of the building (approximately 20,000
people) also began immediately after the attack and DPS made an announcement within five minutes after
the plane struck the building. Building occupants were instructed to go to South and North Parking areas.
As soon as Arlington County Fire Department arrived on the scene Assistant Chief Schwartz took control
as the Incident Commander and executed the primary mission of fire suppression. DPS officers, often at
great risk to their own safety, assisted in the rescue of building occupants from damaged areas. Because
of thick smoke the officers called to the victims and asked them to move to the sound of their voice. In
some instances DPS officers ignored the warnings of firefighters because they heard people yelling for help
in the damaged area - there were several real heroes who were later presented awards for their heroism.
Concurrent with evacuation and rescue tasks, DPS also had the primary role of securing the scene of the
plane crash both to assist in the priority of rescue and fire suppression and later for the crime scene
investigation. Because of the immediate humanitarian need to assist with the rescue of the severely
injured occupants, it took a while for the DPS to attain good control of the overall situation.

Later in the evening a system using hospital wristbands was instituted to identify who should have access
to the area. Near the end of the first day (approximately 5 or 6 PM) a stand up informal meeting was held
in the Secretary of Defense Press room with the primary attendees Assistant Chief Schwartz, the FBI and
Chief Jester. All principals knew their roles and were doing them. DPS's primary role was security of the
site. By this time all roads around the Pentagon had been closed by the VA State Police who were
assisted by other police agencies in the area.

By 2400 on the 11th, the FBI had established the Joint Operations Center (JOC) at Fort Myer, VA. By 6:00
AM a tent city had begun to appear in the South Parking lot which included command posts, supporting
elements and contractors. DPS began using a portable badging system to improve the identification and
access security system. This system did not work well enough and later the Secret Service provided a 6-8
station system operated partially by members of the Army Band. At first only one color of badge was used,
but subsequently this evolved to several colors to differentiate various types of access. Some people were
taken into custody for entering controlled areas without authorization. The contractors for the renovation of
the first wedge of the Pentagon became a source for support equipment that DPS needed for security of
the site including Jersey barriers, tents, lights, fencing, etc. At this point no question of price for any
equipment or support was discussed. Also obtained were 16,000 suits worn in hazardous areas (worn
once and disposed of) and respirators for police officers and fire fighters. A field Command Post for DPS
was provided by Lockheed Martin.

A significant and difficult task performed by DPS was the recovery of classified material. Prior to 9-11 no
thought had been given to the retrieval of classified documents and containers. DPS recovered 200 safes
containing classified information from the attack site. As safes were recovered, they were taken to a
warehouse previously used for the destruction of classified documents, allowed to cool if necessary and
then opened. The best method found to open a safe was the "jaws of life" used by fire departments. Once
a safe was opened, its contents were assessed with assistance of Pentagon components and documents
returned to the appropriate custodian. A number of documents were destroyed because of their condition.
Two days after the attack DPS was augmented by two companies of military police from reserve units in
Maryland. One of the primary functions for these units was security of hallways in the Pentagon to prevent
unauthorized access. Within a short period these companies were replaced by an active duty Military
NBG9-11 CRR INTERVIEW TEMPLATE

Police Battalion HQs (503d MP Bn) from Fort Bragg, NC (and two active military police companies from
Fort Stewart, GA, and Fort Bragg, NC). Active duty units remained in support of DPS beyond December
2001.

Another unanticipated problem which arose was the number of occupants who felt a need to get back into
their areas to retrieve professional papers and personal effects. Some groups tried to circumvent the
security officers to get back into their offices. Several people, including one general officer was taken into
custody.

POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING: None of note.

CASUALTIES: None

CRISIS/CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMENT EFFORTS: Consequence Management is an extremely big

effort. DPS kept a team at the site until it closed (approximately four months). Security was difficult to
maintain because of all the equipment moving in and out of the site and the requirement for close
coordination with the FBI for preservation of the crime scene. ICS and DCS as parts of crisis/consequence
management were validated along with the JOC as key elements to a successful operation. One challenge
in Consequence Management was to keep the Pentagon running in spite of smoke, water damage, no
power and a determination to continue business as usual. DPS worked closely with Real Estate
Management to keep the building running by insuring access to those areas necessary to this purpose.
Along this line in order for Pentagon employees to be able to come to work the parking areas at National
Airport and the Pentagon Mall were used as employee parking areas while the normal parking areas
around the Pentagon were used for support of the crisis and consequence management efforts.

PART 4 (Conclusion. Supporting Documents and Follow-Up):

According to Chief Jester there are no supporting documents. He explained that when you are in the
throes of responding to a situation of this magnitude there is no thought nor time to write down what you
are doing. No logs were kept and the radio log which is a recording of calls would not be very useful (i.e.,
for the most part unintelligible). Chief Jester has prepared a set of lessons learned that he has provided to
us. Additionally, they are working on an after-action report. Some of the lessons learned that he
mentioned during our interview included:
- Need to have information on where safes are located and have a plan for recovery of classified
material.
- Need to stock equipment such as suits and respirators for operations in hazardous areas including
recovery of classifed materials.
- Be prepared to set up a field CP at the site. They are now purchasing a mobile CP Neevan for this
purpose.
- Need to have a plan for the unexpected, particularly having on hand such items as flashlights and
batteries. DPS is still developing this list.
- Now have a different perception of the threat than prior to 9-11. "Don't ever assume that a
catastrophic event won't happen on your watch."
- DPS now has a different type of side arm (i.e..automatic) and baton (i.e., ASP).
- BIO/CHEM Hazard kits are now carried by DPS officers.
- Work to strenghen the building in the construction of the wedge renovation was successful in
mitigating damage and loss of lives. He particularly mentioned that windows in the renovated section had
NBG 9-11 CRR INTERVIEW TEMPLATE

not blown out and the walls remained standing in contrast to the damage to the unrenovated part of the
building.
Chief Jester also suggested that we contact Dr. Goldberg, OSD Historian, who is working on a history of
the 9-11 events and has already conducted interviews and collected documents. Chief Jester also
recommended that we talk to the Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, BG Baptiste who
acted as the conduit for his requests for military assistance.