NEWS

A Decade Passes, Memories Remain: DIA Commemorates the 10th Anniversary of Sept. 11

Days before the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, DIA gathered at the DIAC to pay tribute to the agency's seven fallen patriots, honor the service members sent to defend the nation after the attacks, and reflect on the progress in the decade since that fateful day.

Included in the audience were more than 30 family members of the victims from DIA's Office of the Comptroller who died in the Pentagon.

After an opening prayer from Chaplain Capt Jeffrey Schlenz, Director LTG Ronald Burgess Jr. addressed the packed Tighe Auditorium and welcomed back retired VADM Thomas Wilson, the former DIA director who was in command of the agency on 9/11. During their remarks, the once and current agency leaders both extended a special greeting to the victims' relatives and underscored the immense debt the agency and the nation owe them for their families' sacrifice.

"On behalf of the men and women of the Defense Intelligence Agency, we hope that this gathering, this ceremony and our observance of the 10th anniversary provides some small measure of reassurance and comfort to the families, friends and colleagues of those we lost 10 years ago," said LTG Burgess to the family members seated in the first rows of the auditorium. "We remember them and cherish their memory. We honor them and their service. Always."

To honor the deceased, the audience observed a moment of silence as Master of Ceremonies Laura Donnelly from the Office for Congressional and Public Affairs (CP) read the name of each of the seven fallen DIA employees: Rosa Chapa, Sandra Foster, Robert Hymel, Shelley Marshall, Patricia Mickley, Charles Sabin and Karl Teepe.

Both directors pointed out the lasting impact of the attacks on both the agency and the country in their remarks.

"The real and most meaningful memorial to DIA's 9/11 dead and wounded is the growth, the transformation, the commitment and the sustained excellence of DIA in the now decade-long war on terrorism," said VADM Wilson. "The agency has transformed itself into a true combat support agency, deploying hundreds if not thousands of professional intelligence officers to the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan."

"We are not the same nation we were on Sept. 10, 2001, nor is DIA the same agency," added LTG Burgess. "The Sept. 11 attacks changed the course of history, and we feel the consequences throughout the Department of Defense, intelligence community, federal government and all parts of civic life. This agency has adapted to overcome obstacles. We are more integrated than ever, having learned from mistakes and successes alike."

Music played a prominent role at key points throughout the ceremony. Directorate for Analysis' (DI) Amber Tussing provided bagpipes as DIA's color guardsmen laid the memorial wreath, and Anna Turner from the Office of the Chief Financial Executive (FE) concluded the moment of silence by singing "Lest We Forget" accompanied on the piano by Larry Gould from CP.

As the ceremony ended, the Tighe's main presentation screen displayed the pictures of the seven DIA patriots, echoing LTG Burgess' earlier remarks: "It is difficult to believe that 10 years now separate us from the terrible events. … The images remain seared in our memories. Yet, amid the horror of that day we saw heroism."

DIA is the nation’s premier all-source military intelligence organization.

It provides the nation’s most authoritative assessments of foreign military intentions and capabilities. The agency’s four core competencies -- human intelligence, all-source analysis, counterintelligence and technical intelligence -- enable military operations while also informing policy-makers at the defense and national levels.

DIA’s mission is unique and no other agency matches its military expertise across such a broad range of intelligence disciplines.