BOND COUNTY SHERIFF IN COUNTER-TERRORISM TRAINING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
Bond County Sheriff Jeff Brown was in an ironic setting when the attack on the World Trade Center occurred September 11, 2001. He was in counter-terrorism training. WGEL spoke with Sheriff Brown who said on September 11 he was in a Protective Services Operation Anti-Terrorism Course which had actually started the day before. Sheriff Brown said on the 11th the class was dissecting past terrorist events, one of which was the earlier bombing of the World Trade Center. Brown said the group was on a break and there was a television playing where they saw the first plane hit the tower. “So,” he said, “we were in an anti-terrorism class watching when the attack happened on September 11.”
Brown said the operations tempo changed immensely and within three weeks people started finding out where they would be deployed to all different parts of the world. Brown said he was activated to Washington, DC and was assigned to protect the Chief of Staff for the Air Force at the Pentagon. “As you can imagine, things changed quite a bit after September 2001,” Sheriff Brown said, “just like they did with everybody else in the world.”
ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD FINISHES VERMONT RELIEF EFFORTS
The Illinois Army National Guard members assisting with Vermont flood relief operations have completed their mission and are heading home. Governor Quinn ordered Illinois National Guard helicopters and troops to active duty in Vermont after receiving a request for assistance.
Approximately 95 members of the Illinois National Guard set up an operating base in Rome, New York, while their helicopters flew into Burlington, Vermont. The Illinois Army National Guard assisted with delivering food, water, and other supplies to several towns in Vermont that were isolated by flooding.
This is the fifth time this year the Illinois National Guard has responded to assist others in need. More than 500 soldiers were activated for the February winter storms and approximately 500 soldiers responded to the southern Illinois flooding this spring. The Illinois National Guard sent one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with five crew members from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation, based in Peoria, to help the South Dakota National Guard battle flood waters June 3 and a UH-60 Blackhawk and four crew members with Company A, 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment in Decatur, deployed to Omaha, Nebraska, June 21 in support of flood relief efforts.
