Gen. Dan Caine reflects on responding to 9/11: "No doubt" nation was at war
Now the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine was a young fighter pilot mobilized in the response on Sept. 11, 2001.
Updated on: September 12, 2026 / 12:00 AM EDT / CBS News
As thousands of first responders and emergency workers rushed to Ground Zero on 9/11 , America's military also rapidly leapt into action.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine was the chief of Weapons and Tactics for the 121st Fighter Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland that day. He told CBS News' Norah O'Donnell that he had just entered a scheduling meeting when a young staffer burst in to say that a plane had struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He and his colleagues then watched on live television as the second plane hit 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. What I felt and thought when the second airplane entered that shot and hit the second tower," Caine said. "I knew right away that our nation was under attack, and we began to move right into action immediately."
There was "no doubt" that the country was at war, Caine said, and his squadron began preparations.
Caine gave orders for the base's weapons, including air-to-air missiles, to start moving, he said. With smoke from the Pentagon visible on the horizon, Caine received a call from the White House ordering the squadron "to get airborne to scramble to defend" Washington, D.C. The rules of engagement were "very liberal," Caine said.