Rick De Fatta, deputy to the commander of the Space and Missile Defense Command, was a Soldier at the Pentagon on 9/11.
He shared his thoughts on Patriot Day 2024, the 23rd anniversary of the tragic attack on our nation Sept. 11, 2001.
“First, it is very personal to me and my family. While not victims, we were all direct witnesses,” De Fatta said. “I am grateful that our nation has chosen to make sure the events of 9/11 will never be forgotten; as a generation has passed since that day, it is now relegated to a key element of history. Our youngest current warfighters across all of the services were born after 9/11 so it is important they are reminded to remember how today’s security posture was shaped.”
On 9/11, De Fatta was a colonel assigned to the Pentagon as the chief of staff, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
“I had just completed staff call, and like many in the Pentagon, was watching live coverage of the twin towers burning on television when the plane hit the building,” he said. “I was on the outer (E) ring, one wedge away from the impact site and felt the building shudder and heard a muffled thud. Most of us assumed a bomb had gone off.
“There was a lot of confusion as everyone filed into the corridors. The ASA(ALT) was out of the country so I escorted the rest of our senior leadership out of the building – it was an orderly evacuation and the only real evidence of the impact was growing smoke presence in and outside the building. Like many officers, I walked around the building to the impact site and spent most of the day as part of a litter team organized to help survivors – which were few. One of the biggest personal sources of anxiety for me and my family was our inability to contact each other for quite some time as there were no smart phones and limited cell service was knocked out or overwhelmed.”
De Fatta arrived at Redstone Arsenal from the Pentagon to become the SHORAD project manager – later Cruise Missile Defense Systems – for his sixth and final assignment to Huntsville.
He retired as a colonel in August 2005 and worked in industry until 2013 when the opportunity to manage the Army’s Directed Energy S&T program came open – a Tier 1 Senior Executive Service position at SMDC which he competed for and was selected. During the past 11 years he led SMDC’s Technical Center, the Future Warfare Center – later Center of Excellence -- and in February 2022 he was selected to his current position as a Tier 3 SES deputy to the commanding general.
De Fatta, 68, grew up as “an Army brat” living on Redstone Arsenal before attending West Point and graduating in 1978. After many assignments to Redstone, he considers Huntsville his hometown.
“My wife was also an Army brat, we met on the Arsenal, have been married for 41 years, and reside in southeast Huntsville,” he said. “Our son and his family reside in Huntsville with our two grandsons, soon 7 and 4. Our daughter and her family live in Nashville with our two granddaughters, 3 and almost 2.”
De Fatta described how people should observe Patriot Day.
“Take the opportunity to attend one of the local observances and remember those that lost their lives or family members as a result of 9/11 – in the crashes or as first responders,” he said. “9/11 changed the trajectory of our military and our country’s security and impacted everything we do at Redstone Arsenal – much like current conflicts around the world are reshaping us again now. Recognize that 9/11 also brought unity to our nation as we responded.”
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