Global War on Terror

Global War on Terror. . , Arlington in the New Millennium , In 2000 Arlington's population had risen to more than 189,000, which would grow by another 18,000 by 2010, an increase greater than the entire County population at the outbreak of World War I (world war one). At the turn of the 21st century, Arlington continued to be a bustling urban community both independent of Washington, D.C., yet closely interrelated with the Federal Government and military. Agencies of the Federal Government were some of the major local employers, including the Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Defense., Arlington Reacts , Emergency personnel from Arlington, Fort Myer (merged and renamed Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in 2005), and regional partners from the metropolitan area were the first responders when a hijacked Boeing 757 hit the Naval Command Center of the Pentagon, killing the 59 people on board the airplane and 125 people inside the building. Three other planes had also been hijacked: two were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, and one was crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Coincidentally, the attack occurred 60 years to the day of the groundbreaking for the Pentagon on September 11, 1941. Arlington County agencies, the U.S. military, and the Federal Government, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, formed the emergency response and investigation teams that labored tirelessly over the following weeks. Local emergency responders were exposed to toxic dust and carcinogens that continue to cause persistent and severe health problems, some leading to disability and death. Many also suffer from post-traumatic stress, which affects veterans, active duty service members, and first responders at a substantially greater rate than the general population., In addition to the lifesaving work of the County's emergency responders, many County agencies rendered aid: the Department of Libraries staff set up and operated a 24-hour hotline; the health inspectors oversaw food safety for emergency personnel; the Department of Parks and Recreation contributed to fencing for the security perimeter around the site; and the Department of Public Works delivered fuel and serviced vehicles. Community groups likewise dedicated their time and resources to the response effort, including the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department's Light and Air unit and its Utility unit, which provided scene lighting and operational support to the Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue teams in the aftermath of the attack. Countless municipal, volunteer, and private sector teams, both local and national, provided support in this time of need., War on Terrorism , Shortly after the terrorist attacks in 2001, the U.S. increased its military presence in Afghanistan, beginning with air strikes in October. While the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014, the U.S continued to maintain a substantial force in the conflict, making it the longest continual combat operation in U.S. history. During this time, the U.S. Armed Forces also conducted operations in Syria, Pakistan, Northern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Yemen, and the Philippines. In 2003, a U.S. effort to capture Saddam Hussein precipitated an invasion of Iraq that lasted officially until the end of 2011. Between October 2001 and September 2015, more than 2.7 million U.S. service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, with over half deploying twice. As of October 2018, U.S. fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq have included more than 14,000 military service members, civilian personnel, and contractors., Stories of Some Who Served , Lance Corporal Niall Coti-Sears, who served with the Marine Corps in Helmand province, was killed in Action on June 23, 2012. Stationed in Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Coti-Sears volunteered as a sweeper and stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) when returning to his forward operating base after a 12-hour firefight. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Navy/Marine Commendation Medal with Valor, among other awards. Coti-Sears continued a proud family tradition of service, his grandfather having retired as a colonel after serving with the Marine Corps in Korea and Vietnam. Coti-Sears' family and friends describe him as adventurous, caring, dynamic, and creative., Lieutenant Colonel James Walton served with the Army in Afghanistan when he was killed in action in Kandahar on June 21, 2008. A West Point graduate, he trained Afghan soldiers with the Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division during his second deployment. Among many awards, he received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. An enthusiastic outdoorsman, pilot, and paratrooper, Walton is widely remembered as genuine, outgoing, and dedicated to excellence., To commemorate the centennial of world war one, Arlington County Government, in collaboration with the County's world war one Commemoration Task Force and Arlington's American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, developed this interpretive marker project to document the impacts of war on the local community and to honor those Arlingtonians who sacrificed their lives in service., [Captions:] , Arlington County first responders at the Pentagon after September 11, 2001 attack, Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Battalion stationed at Fort Myer render honors as rescue workers unfurl the garrison flag on September 12, 2001., Emergency operations at the Pentagon on September 13, 2001, Reconstruction of the Naval Command Center in the northwestern section of the Pentagon, 2006, The USS Arlington was one of three ships commissioned and named to memorialize the September 11th attacks., Freddie's Beach Bar in Crystal City near the Pentagon has been instrumental in providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ service members during and since the years of the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. More than 13,000 U.S. service members were discharged for their sexual orientation and gender identity before the repeal of the policy in 2011., Comparison of Wilson and Washington boulevards, looking southwest in (from left to right) the 1950s, 1960s, and 2019. The American Legion War Memorial returned to this location in 1986 after the demolition of the Clarendon Trust Company and the completion of the Metrorail.