SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill (USTCNS) -- The year since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent war on terrorism, has seen profound changes on both the civilian population of the United States, and on its military. The nation’s military reservists have a special perspective on these changes, having a foot in both worlds.

The reservists who support the United States Transportation Command, located at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, recall how the tragedy of 9-11 affected themselves and the command.

“I was at work,” said Susan L. Shaw, of O’Fallon, Illinois, of the day of the attacks. After the first plane hit the World Trade Center, it became clear to her; “I knew it was terrorism.” As a Tech. Sgt. in the Air Force Reserve, she knew something else; “I immediately let them know that I might be called up.”

“I was on my way to a conference in Jefferson City, Mo, with one of my teachers,” said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Ted Hodgson, Business Department Chair at Hazelwood Central High School in Mo., “and we had stopped to get a cup of coffee. This is when the first plane hit. We started to go on the trip when we heard the second plane had hit. I told my partner that we needed to head back because this was a terrorist attack and I would probably be needed.”

Hodgson and Shaw were correct. Like many of their fellow members of USTRANSCOM’s Joint Transportation Reserve Unit, they were recalled to active duty.

USTRANSCOM provides air, land, and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and times of war. That means if the military needs people, equipment or supplies moved, it’s USTRANSCOM that moves it. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Department of Defense civilian personnel staff the command.

The JTRU, the first Department of Defense-authorized “joint” reserve unit, provides USTRANSCOM with the highly skilled personnel it needs from the reserve components of all the services.

The “citizen soldiers” of the JTRU have long been a part of USTRANSCOM’s daily operations, even in times of relative peace, according to the JTRU commander, Brig. Gen. Robert P. Meyer, Ohio Air National Guard. Meyer said even the activation of unit members is nothing new for the JTRU.

“Since Desert Storm,” he explained, “when the unit stood up, there have been many times when our people have been brought onto active duty to support USTRANSCOM during critical operations – Bosnia, Haiti, and others. But Operation Noble Eagle [the military’s role in Homeland Defense] and Enduring Freedom [the global war on terrorism] have really challenged both the JTRU and individual unit members. It’s not just the number of individuals being activated, but also the length of the tours, usually one year.”

So far, 86 USTRANSCOM reservists have been mobilized to support Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom. While some of these individuals have already been demobilized, and others are preparing to be, still others are preparing for activation.

In the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2001, the reserves had provided USTRANSCOM with 13,948 man days of support. Man days are the number of days of duty individual reservists serve. In the current fiscal year, more than 45,000 man days have been served, according to Navy Reserve Capt. Paula Bozdech-Veater, Acting Chief, Reserve Affairs at USTRANSCOM, herself a mobilized reservist.

Some activated JTRU members work in USTRANSCOM’s Global Patient Movement Requirements Center, which is the Department of Defense single manager for movement of military patients. The GPMRC’s mission includes the evacuation of wounded personnel out of Afghanistan on C-130, C-17 and C-141 cargo aircraft, as well as a few of the GPMRC’s fleet of specially outfitted C-9A aircraft.

Still others are posted to locations such as United States Central Command in Florida, serving as Liaison Officers between the war fighters of USCENTCOM and USTRANSCOM, which supports their efforts.

However most of the mobilized JTRU members, like Hodgson, work at Scott Air Force Base. As a Joint Mobility Operations Officer in USTRANSCOM’s Movement Control Center, he is responsible for planning, coordinating, controlling and monitoring global strategic transportation operations.

Capt. Paul Wells, Army Reserve, of Springfield, Ill, also at Scott, monitors the security and availability of the computer and communications systems used by Hodgson and others at USTRANSCOM to perform their jobs.

However, even duty at a relatively safe and comfortable duty station such as Scott AFB can present a hardship, since many JTRU members travel great distances to be a part of the unit – some from as far away as Alabama. This separation from home and loved ones compounded the impact of mobilization for reservists, many of whom also took large pay cuts when they moved from full time civilian to full-time military.

“Though I had no doubts,” said Wells, “at activation, my wife doubted her ability to be, in effect, a single, working parent with two small children. Not surprisingly to me, she succeeded wonderfully.”

“This said,” added the Fort Madison, Iowa, native, “I think she is still anxious to get me home.”

Others, like Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Hines, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, of Columbia, Mo., worried about the civilian jobs they left behind. Hines said he felt badly about leaving the Columbia Fire Department, where he is assistant fire chief, shorthanded because seasoned fire officers are hard to replace. However, he feels his work at USTRANSCOM is important, and necessary.

“It would be tough to sit at home, seeing other military members being called up and contributing, and not be included,” Hines said.

Despite the hardships caused by activation, Meyer said, “Many of our mobilized unit members have agreeded to extend their tour for another year. As a commander and an American, I can’t help but feel proud of that.”

The events of Sept. 11, and their call to active duty, have significantly changed the lives of the mobilized reservists.

“It made me realize all the more that life, and relationships we develop and maintain in this life, are not only precious,” said Wells, “but also not guaranteed.”

As members of the nation’s armed forces, though, the reservists are trained to find positive lessons that can be applied in the future. For Hodgson, it was simple, “Be trained to do your job.”

Wells echoed that feeling, saying, “Be prepared,” and then added, “My observation is that the JTRU learned a lot this past year about what and how to mobilize reservists and how to deal with their personnel needs while on Active Duty.”