AIR POWER

Did you ever hear of Ben Sliney?  Fate dropped him into an enormously responsible position at an enormously important time.  The date was September 11, 2001. . . a day of infamy in our country.  It was Ben's first day on the job in a new position - FAA national operations manager.  (The FAA is the Federal Aviation Administration)

Of course, on this date, civilian commercial jetliners were flown into buildings in New York City and Washington D.C. and another was flown into the ground.  If this doesn't sound like enough to make a person wish he never took the job, consider this.  During the malaise and fog of war that went on that day, it was discovered that the FAA could not communicate very well with NORAD because of equipment and terminology.  (NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command)  The FAA was also having difficulty communicating with the Department of Defense (DoD).   

All this made people sweat blood, made stomachs churn lava and brains pound like kettle drums.  With all the military folks trying to stabilize the situation while looking for the next shoe to drop, the civilian on his first day on the job made a call that had more effect than anything that day away from the crash sites.  Ben Sliney ordered all civilian aviation to the ground.  Fly to the nearest airport and land.  That's an order.  Period!  

It was chaos but it brought the situation to a standstill - and that is what was needed.  It cost the airline industry (who Ben answered to) billions - but it had to be done.