Troy Cooper Portfolio

Photo by John Whelan

Troy Cooper’s

THE GRAPHIC DESIGN CODE AND RATING ADMINISTRATION* HAS RATED THIS PORTFOLIO

RATED RESPLENDENT FOR FANS OF DESIGNS

* Not an actual administration

Table of Contents

Builders

MISSION STATEMENT

BASEBALL 1

The Apprentice School 2014 Annual Report

It is worth noting that the Apprentice School’s annual report is usually a rotating project among the other designers in the department, but due the quality and efficiency of my work, they asked that I be assigned to it for two years in a row.

Editor:

Graphic Designer: Troy Cooper

Photographers:

Contributors: J.D. Drewry, Jim Heath, Jacob Johnston, Will Prescott, Steve Stallings and Vince Warren

April Shockley Kiehl

Troy Cooper, Dar Deerfield Mook, Chris Oxley, Ricky Thompson and John Whalen

Leadership Messages

Newport News Shipbuilding’s Apprentice School is one of the most visible elements of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ robust workforce development strategy. While it provides opportunities for men and women to learn a variety of shipbuilding trades, as well as the important craft of leadership, it’s also a critical tool we use at HII to maintain a pipeline of skilled employees in Virginia. I’m proud of The Apprentice School’s rich history at Newport News Shipbuilding and excited about the role it will continue to play as we position HII for the future.

_Mike Petters, President and CEO Huntington Ingalls Industries

At Newport News Shipbuilding, our talented and highly-skilled workforce continue to be our company’s greatest strength. The Apprentice School serves as our leadership academy, providing a first-class education while attracting the best and brightest talent. This highly-competitive school develops the world’s finest shipbuilders and our company’s future leaders. Today, three vice presidents on my staff are proud Apprentice School graduates, and 44 percent of our production leadership team also hold this distinction. The investments we have made and will continue to make in our students and in the school itself are charting the course for another 129 years of success.

_Matt Mulherin, President Newport News Shipbuilding

For close to a century, The Apprentice School has provided its students with a wide range of opportunities in craft specialization and academics as well as the unparalleled opportunity to work alongside and learn from America’s best shipbuilders. As a graduate of The Apprentice School Class of 1978, I know first-hand how The Apprentice School has enabled my career. Starting out as a painter and working my way through leadership roles across the shipyard was made possible because of the knowledge, skills and pride of workmanship I attained from The Apprentice School. Today, as we celebrate the graduation of our 10,000th apprentice, we believe the opportunities for our students to excel and prosper have never been greater.

_Ray Bagley, Vice President, Trades Operations Newport News Shipbuilding

The Apprentice School 2013 Annual Report

Contributors | J.D. Drewry, Jim Heath, Jacob Johnston, Will Prescott and Vince Warren Editor April Shockley Kiehl

Graphic Designer Troy Cooper

Photographers | Troy Cooper Chris Oxley Ricky Thompson and John Whalen

Leadership Messages

Newport News Shipbuilding’s Apprentice School is one of the most visible elements of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ robust workforce development strategy. While it provides opportunities for men and women to learn a variety of shipbuilding trades, as well as the important craft of leadership, it’s also a critical tool we use at HII to maintain a pipeline of skilled employees in Virginia. I’m proud of The Apprentice School’s rich history at Newport News Shipbuilding and excited about the role it will continue to play as we position HII for the future.

_Mike Petters, President and CEO Huntington Ingalls Industries

At Newport News Shipbuilding, our talented and highly-skilled workforce continue to be our company’s greatest strength. The Apprentice School serves as our leadership academy, providing a first-class education while attracting the best and brightest talent. This highly-competitive school develops the world’s finest shipbuilders and our company’s future leaders. Today, three vice presidents on my staff are proud Apprentice School graduates, and 44 percent of our production leadership team also hold this distinction. The investments we have made and will continue to make in our students and in the school itself are charting the course for another 129 years of success.

_Matt Mulherin, President Newport News Shipbuilding

For close to a century, The Apprentice School has provided its students with a wide range of opportunities in craft specialization and academics as well as the unparalleled opportunity to work alongside and learn from America’s best shipbuilders. As a graduate of The Apprentice School Class of 1978, I know first-hand how The Apprentice School has enabled my career. Starting out as a painter and working my way through leadership roles across the shipyard was made possible because of the knowledge, skills and pride of workmanship I attained from The Apprentice School. Today, as we celebrate the graduation of our 10,000th apprentice, we believe the opportunities for our students to excel and prosper have never been greater.

_Ray Bagley, Vice President, Trades Operations Newport News Shipbuilding

NNS thanks you for 23 years of outstanding service in your second career providing SUBSAFE certification for 22 Navy submarines

Joseph A. Wryk

NOVEMBER 11

CELEBRATE VETERANS DAY

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans. In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress — at the urging of the veterans service organizations — amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

This observance is endorsed by the Newport News Shipbuilding Diversity Council.

K EE PING YOUREYES SAFE

According to the Health and Safety Department, eye injuries account for roughly 11 percent of all shipyard injuries each year. Three Safety Task Team members share tips to keep your eyes safe.

• Make sure your safety glasses or goggles are properly fitted. This means there must be very little space between the lenses, side shields and your face. Glasses should firmly sit on your nose without being too tight. Safety Task Team Member Rick Collier recommends trying one of nine new types of eyewear available through the tool rooms. If you still can’t find a pair that fits, contact Safety.

• Lean forward when removing hoods, hats, glasses, etc. “It prevents the debris from falling into your eyes,” said Structural Welder Tim Watkins

• Be aware of your surroundings. “If you’re welding with a bulkhead behind you, the sparks can bounce off that and back to you,” said Watkins.

• Use Parker’s™ Perfect anti-fogging spray to reduce fog. Fitter Darryl Dildy believes that eye injuries occur more often during the summer because of the heat. “When people sweat, their glasses fog up, making it hard to see. And when they take them off they wipe their eyes, causing debris to get in,” said Dildy.

• Report it now. If you get debris or a foreign object in your eye, immediately report it to the clinic. “If you don’t go to the clinic right away, the injury may become worse overnight,” said Collier. If you miss your ride home, the company will provide a ride home at no charge.

“It doesn’t take much to get hurt if you’re not careful” said Watkins. “When you prepare yourself with the right protection and practices you will be less likely to sustain an injury.” I By Rehn

West

SuffolK siege of

23 DAys of Turmoil

The Civil War Comes to suffolk

Henry H. Ingalls was a young farmer from South Chelmsford, Massachusetts, who joined the 6th Massachusetts Infantry for a nine-month period. He spent that entire service in Suffolk, and he recorded his impressions of soldier life during that time. His diary contained a pocket calendar and two pieces of Confederate money.

Sunday, April 12, 1863

The Siege of Suffolk

Pvt. Henry Ingalls of the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry was posted with his regiment somewhere in what is today the Saratoga neighborhood of Suffolk. From his position, he would have been facing south along the Somerton Road, today’s Carolina Road. He wrote in his diary, “Last night was an anxious night for me. We were called up at an early hour expecting an attack. Rebs are in force on our right. Quite still today. Am on picket tonight.”

During this day, Gen. Longstreet’s Confederates fanned out into positions halfway around Suffolk. The left end of the line was anchored at Hill’s Point, at the site of the present Nansemond River Golf Course. From there it extended along

Godwin Boulevard Road, to Kenyon Road (then called and ended at the Road, which was few weeks, the nearly 30 miles Among the Campaign were war. Gen. John side of Suffolk. the Confederate Tecumseh Sherman. movie Gone With Gen. George

By Kermit hobbs A special project of the Suffolk News-Herald, Suffolk Living and the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society Price $9.95

Rebel line, and he would gain fame just a few months later for his brigade’s famous charge at Gettysburg. In Suffolk he became somewhat infamous for his nighttime rides all the way around Suffolk to Barber’s Crossroads, near Chuckatuck, to visit his sweetheart, Miss Sally Corbell, whom he later married.

During the previous months, Union Gen. Peck had endured quite a bit of criticism from the men in his command. He had busied his troops, along with former slaves who had come to Suffolk for protection, in building a massive ring of earthwork defenses around the town.

Soldiers had often complained that they had “joined the army to fight, not to dig.” But now Peck had been vindicated. The men under his command could feel relatively secure within their formidable defensive lines.

Suffolk

Boulevard to Elephant’s Fork, along Murphy’s Mill Kenyon Road, along Turlington Road, across Carolina called Somerton Road), eventually to Badger Road, the edge of the Dismal Swamp on White Marsh was then known as Edenton Road. During the next 23,000 troops of Longstreet’s force would erect miles of earthwork defenses along those lines.

Confederate generals involved in the Suffolk were two who would become famous later in the John Bell Hood commanded the line along the north Suffolk. He would gain fame later as the commander of Confederate forces in Atlanta, facing Union Gen. William Sherman. This confrontation was portrayed in the With The Wind.

George Pickett commanded the southern portion of the

Still, there was the general belief that Longstreet would attack soon. Peck, always the cautious one, was still concerned about the two unfinished forts on the east side of Suffolk. He feared that Longstreet’s army would cross the Nansemond River and attack him in those positions. Just days previously, he had sent several Union regiments to erect defenses on the east side of the Nansemond River to resist a crossing attempt. But now that Rebels were facing him on three sides, he got cold feet. He recalled most of those regiments and set them to work finishing Fort Jericho and Fort Halleck on the east side of Suffolk. So far, he had not been threatened from that direction. Even though the Confederate line did not completely encircle the town of Suffolk, the Federals named this event “The Siege of Suffolk.”

This map of Suffolk was drawn by Private Orrin S. Allen of the 112th New York Infantry and is on display in Riddick’s Folly.

General John Bell Hood

General George Pickett

Kermit Hobbs

riddicK’s Folly

totaled carnage

Popular event puts bragging rights — and heavy metal — on the line

There are two schools of thought when it comes to choosing the perfect car for a demolition derby. The first, and perhaps more obvious, is to get the cheapest, most readily available set of wheels to be found on the theory that it will be all but worthless by the time the event is over.

There are those, however, who hold to the idea that a greater investment is required. Either way, don’t expect to get the car insured, and don’t make any plans that require it to be driven away at the end of the night.

One of Suffolk’s favorite annual events is the demolition derby that takes place during the city’s annual Peanut Festival in October. The bleachers fill up well before the evening event, and folks line up a dozen deep around the orange plastic fence that marks the safety zone around the field of battle. Spectators come from all over the area, and participants come from places all over Virginia and beyond.

They’re all there for the same reasons — to revel in the din of crunching metal and

Repairs are part of the strategy during the demolition derby. And, like the derby itself, the repairs that keep vehicles in the running from one heat to the next are loud, dirty and reliant on brute force.

“It’s just the thrill of getting out there and smacking everybody and getting smacked. When they drop the green flag, there’s gonna be a whole lot of hittin’.”

GreG Lafferty — Derby Driver

suffolk living 57

a walk down bank street

Back in 1967, the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society asked 84-yearold Marie Woodward to record her memories of Bank Street at the turn of the 20th century. She recorded an audiotape for the organization, and in 2006 that tape was transcribed. The text was put together with photos from various collections, and the booklet “We Are the Poorer for Their Passing: Miss Marie Remembers Bank Street” was then published by the Society. Bank Street took its name from the Farmers Bank of Nansemond, which faced it from Main Street. It was developed not for banks, though, but to expand the available sites for

homes as Suffolk began to grow after the Civil War. Some of Suffolk’s grandest homes were built on Bank Street, and some of those homes still exist there today.

Step back in time now and have a look at the people and places of Bank Street at the turn of the 20th century.

Copies of the Historical Society’s publication are available today at the Dawson House, the circa 1880 home at 137 Bank St. that now serves as the Historical Society’s headquarters, or at the Suffolk Railroad Museum book shop. They may also be ordered by calling 923-4750.

— R.E. Spears III, editor

Bank Street in 1907 (background image) had more trees, but many of the homes that were there then are still there today. One that still exists is the Truitt House, the house with the columns in the photo at left. The William Jones House stood on the corner of Bank and Pinner streets, where three friends stood for the center photo, which comes from the Lehman Collection. Bank Street took its name from the original Farmers Bank of Nansemond building, at right.

A History

The Suffolk News-Herald presents a new series exploring how North Suffolk came to be.

ity of s uffolk A History

The Suffolk News-Herald presents a new series exploring how North Suffolk came to be.

‘HeArt-StoppiNg’ how Suffolk reacted to 9/11 attacks

was located in Suffolk, sent a team of personnel to New York on Thursday. At Suffolk’s schools, some students watched the attacks unfold on television, while others were not told about the situation.

At Mount Zion Elementary School, Sandra Witcher, then the principal, placed the school in “Code Yellow Lockdown,” with entrance and classroom doors locked. Older children were getting information about the attacks from their teachers, and a handful of concerned parents picked their children up and took them home.

At Forest Glen Middle School, then-principal Kevin Alston, now an assistant superintendent, tried to keep the information from the impressionable students. “We don’t want to create a hysteria,” he told the newspaper. Several parents had called to request their children not be allowed to watch the attacks on television. Alston locked the entrance doors and spent most of the day in the courtyard, watching traffic coming and going.

At Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, the upper school held a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks. At First Baptist Christian School, younger

students were told only that “something bad” had happened, but older children were allowed to watch a half-hour of news coverage and then discuss it with their teachers.

That evening, Sentara Healthcare’s Nightingale air ambulance got a military escort from two fighter jets when it headed to the Suffolk airport to pick up a patient injured in Gates County, N.C. All air traffic had been grounded for the day, and special permission from Washington was needed to fly. According to the report at the time, the military had not received the information about Nightingale’s flight quickly enough, so it scrambled the jets to intercept the copter as a precaution.

The faith community responded to the attacks en masse. Churches including Southside Baptist Church, Suffolk Christian Church and St. Mary of the Presentation Catholic Church held services that night. West End Baptist Church opened its sanctuary until dark for prayer.

Several downtown church pastors met Wednesday morning in The Downtowner restaurant to plan an interdenominational service, held on Friday at Suffolk Christian. More than 300 people packed into the sanctuary, and six local pastors took turns in

the pulpit. City officials were also invited.

“We can’t ask for revenge, Father, but we know that you know how best to handle the situation,” Councilman Leroy Bennett prayed at the service. The Suffolk News-Herald printed its first “extra” edition since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. At that time, the paper subscribed to the Associated Press wire copy service. The extra edition carried stories from the AP and was on the streets by 2 p.m., while reporters worked all day to get the local reaction.

The headline on Sept. 12 read simply, “TERROR!”

The paper carried photos of local firefighters and retail employees watching the attacks on small televisions in their workplaces.

On Sept. 13, the editorial was headlined, “Illusion of security is gone forever.”

A guest column by the Rev. Michael Halley, pastor of Suffolk Christian Church, advised readers to grieve, pray and remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord.

“May God bless our nation; may God bless our leaders; may God bless all the families touched by this terrible tragedy,” he wrote.

— Compiled by Tracy Agnew, news editor

Shuttle Challenger explosion.

In 2001, with live video of a commercial airliner crashing into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, while smoke poured from the North Tower in the wake of an earlier attack, one of the defining moments of a new generation would become burned into the collective consciousness of the world. It wasn’t just the nation that changed as a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001; the lives of Americans who watched the horrors of that day will never be the same. We asked our readers to tell us what they remember about the day and to share how it changed them. Here is how a few of them replied.

‘How could he have hit such a big building?’

I was a Staff Sergeant in the Army at the time, and I was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. was working at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at the time, and I was coming in to work that moment. I remember walking into the office and the television was on, with two other soldiers watching what appeared to be a burning building to me at first glance.

I asked, “What happened?” One of the soldiers said a plane flew into one of the World Trade Center buildings. I thought that the pilot must have

made a big mistake. But how could he have hit such a big building?

A few minutes went by, and I noticed an object in the television screen coming in from the right, and it hit the other building. We all looked at each other and realized that this was no accident. We were under attack. The hospital, within what seemed like 10 minutes, was shut down, and armed soldiers were running down the hall with weapons to secure the stairs, elevators and hallways.

I knew that my life as a soldier would change from that very moment. was soon preparing to deploy within a month. Curtis O. JOrdAn

‘Such sadness and heartbreak’

My husband was active duty in the Army, stationed in the Washington, D.C. area. We were living in Waldorf, Md.

My husband was in the DIA building across the Potomac from the Pentagon that day. He watched the Pentagon from across the way when their building was evacuated. My girls were in school. was at home watching the news. My neighbor came over, because her husband was in the Pentagon area, as well. We were both very relieved when we finally heard that they were both OK. Reaction was disbelief, horror, worry about where my husband was, since he could not call until later in the day, fear for the people and families affected, fear for the people in the planes and buildings. Fear for where or what they would hit next.

I know a small fraction of the terror caused, as we were in D.C. on 9-11. know the uncertainty and fear it was to have my hus-

band somewhere between the Pentagon and DIA that day. I know the fear, panic and sadness of knowing planes with innocent people in them were being targeted at more innocent people on land. And I knew the fear that they were targeting the D.C. area, specifically. I also know the comfort of having friends from around the military call that day to make sure all was OK with us.

I remember driving by the Pentagon in the days and weeks after 9-11 — such sadness and heartbreak for those who lost loved ones. This day changed us as a nation. And it left me with a realization that there are people out there who do not want to “be friends” or to coexist. There are people out there whose lives are unwaveringly dedicated to our destruction as a Christian nation. KAthiE stuCKEy

‘We could have been a target.’

I was working on a Nuclear Submarine at NNSY. I was locked in — no one in and no one out of the facility. My children were right across the waterway. We had three nuclear submarines there — we could have been a target.

I watched the towers go down, and I heard our sirens. The thought of not seeing or being able to be with my children during those first few hours was horrific. AmAndA LE Gh

CArPEntEr-WALtErs

‘When the world stopped’

Here is a poem I wrote in the days following 9/11. I was 25 years old and was a first-year teacher in Georgia. This is my

reflection on the day.

My Generation

I am one of the youngest members of Generation X.

I was just a baby during the Camp David Accords.

I do not remember when President Reagan was shot. The Iran Contra Hearings are a vague memory that I did not understand at the time. I was 9 when the Challenger exploded. I was watching MTV when it happened. I was 13 at the start of Desert Storm, and no one I knew was directly involved. I did not see how it affected me. I was in high school when Waco happened. It seemed so far away. I was 19 when the Murrah building was destroyed. I was shocked, but wrapped up in college life. was 23 during Columbine. I wondered what was happening in our schools.

Today I am 25. am a daughter. am a sister. I am a wife. I am a

‘it must have been an accident.

Growing up in the shadow of the new York City skyline, i said, you always see planes flying over the city, some very low… “like that one!’’

‘little did we know ….’

By Dr. Keith M. Curran

St. Andrew PreSbyteriAn ChurCh

When I think about my past, I can remember where

I was in moments of gutwrenching national tragedy.

I was in my third-grade classroom when our principal, Mrs. Johnson, announced over the PA that President Kennedy was assassinated. I was at home watching TV when a news flash interrupted my show with the news that Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis.

I remember the sick feeling as I watched from my living room the riots at the Chicago Convention in ’68.

I was standing on the front lawn of my Titusville, Fla., church as the Challenger space shuttle roared and rumbled into the sky, until it disappeared into a cloud of smoke and flame. Another time, I got a call from Marc Richardson asking if we were OK. I asked, “Why?” He said, “There was a tornado over your house.” I raced to Driver and beat the fire depart-

ment there, and I walked the road and talked with the residents and offered our church’s help to those whose homes had been swept away moments before.

When we think about the past, are there moments you’ll never forget? I remember where I was when I heard about 9/11.

Do you?

before our eyes. We were horrified. I can’t remember much about the rest of the day, other than it was lost in a blur. Do you remember what you did that day?

Somehow, the Holy Spirit must have found an undisturbed space in my heart and nudged me to do something, because I found myself planning a community service for that evening.

We prayed Psalm 22:

changed forever.

Who knew that we’d be asked to accept a “new normal” and live with an underlying fear that shaped elections, made us all terrorist experts, colored countless sermons and left us feeling vulnerable, exposed and suspicious? But we’re people of faith, and although tears may last through the night, joy comes in the morning. It’s taken 10 years,

A Suffolk NewS-HerAld SpeciAl

9 11 2001 We remember

Nineteen terrorists. Four hijacked airplanes. 2,977 innocent lives lost. The numbers, while horrible to conceive, cannot begin to convey the wrenching emotions of that morning 10 years ago as America came under attack.

Curran

I was working in my study when Evelyn Jones phoned the office to let us know something terrible was happening. We hurried to plug in a TV set, and we watched in shock the smoke tumbling out of the first tower of the World Trade Center.

“It must have been an accident,” I said. Growing up in the shadow of the New York City skyline, I said, you always see planes flying over the city, some very low… “Like that one!”

And I pointed to the screen to prove my point, but the plane slammed into the second tower right

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” we felt like saying. We read Psalm 77 and 23 and sang “There is a Balm in Gilead” and “Blessed Assurance.”

I closed with these words: “Can we depend on anything in this world? We can depend on Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. This is our assurance.”

And little did we know in that moment that soon our nation would be listening to the prophet Joel: “Beat your plows into swords and make spears from your shovels.” Little did we know the personal cost and sacrifice we’d be asked to offer. Little did we know that our world would be

You see, we believe that with God all things are possible.

Memory: readers share their thoughts about 9/11

Continued from page 2B

both twin

when the world stops for his generation?

-Kristen Petrelli

(Sept. 13, 2001& June 2, 2004)

‘Time for a radical reversal’

Next Generation

A newlywed in the army-

Back from a one-night honeymoon

His father has shocking news-

A single bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that could end the war.

That’s where my grandfather was when the world stopped on August 6, 1945.

A high school senior

Getting ready for the senior play

An announcement comes on the loudspeaker-

The President is dead.

That’s where my father was when the world stopped on November 22, 1963.

A brand new teacher-

A month into school

A colleague whispers in my ear-

The World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been hit.

That’s where I was when the world stopped on September 11, 2001.

One moment in time

Affecting entire generations.

Events that become part of our history

Molding who we are and what we will become,

Where will my son be

A coworker arrived that morning of 9/11, freaked out from the plane screaming right above his car in its descent into the Pentagon.

At the National Association of Federal Credit Union headquarters, where I was directing government affairs at the time, I got a call from dad, Dan Frohman, known in Suffolk for organizing the first Peanut Festivals in 1975, developing what was then called the Holiday Inn and advocating for the airport.

He heard “fire” from one of his passengers as he approached La Guardia Airport. Seconds later, as he frantically looked around his twin-engine plane for the “fire,” he felt on his plane the buffeting from the collision into the World Trade Center.

Landing at the airport, he got out onto the tarmac in time to see the second collision.

The following year, the private pilots association had him represent the country urging National Airport not to close itself to private plane traffic.

Having worked for the Cato Institute, Ron Paul and now Gov. Gary Johnson, agree that Benjamin Franklin was right: If we sacrifice liberty for security, we’ll get neither.

Six of the eleven

9/11 Investigative Commissioners doubted the government’s testimony, and Homeland Security is creating a nation of paranoids looking to rat on their neighbors for “suspicious” activity. Our emails and phone calls no longer enjoy 4th Amendment privacy protections. Our overseas interventions are aggravating terrorist recruitment and bankrupting our country.

It’s time for a radical reversal of the post 9/11 police state. ChArLEs d. FrOhmAn, m.Ed. suffolk resident, 1974-1984

‘Glued to the TV’ I and my wife, Vera, had just finished a leisurely breakfast, and were reading the Suffolk News Herald and the Virginian Pilot with our after-breakfast coffee. We were both retired. She had just retired from Lakeland High School in June of 2001 and me from the Naval Supply System in 1986. It was our policy not to have the TV on for breakfast. Vera had a doctor’s appointment and headed to the garage. As she backed out the car, her car radio told her that the first plane had hit the World Trade Center. I turned on the TV, and we watched pictures of smoke coming out of a tower. Vera still had a doctor’s appointment, so she left, and I continued to watch television.

I saw the second plane hit the other tower, the third plane hit the Pentagon, and

The agencies tasked with protecting air traffic were still confused about what was happening when a hijacked airplane, American Airlines Flight 11, crashed at 466 miles per hour into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, instantly killing the people aboard and hundreds in the Manhattan office building and trapping nearly 1,400 who worked in the building from the 91st to the 110th floors. But when the world saw the second airplane, United Airlines Flight 175, enter the field of vision of television cameras that had arrived to document the disaster, they had a moment to wonder what was actually happening. And then, in the next second, as the airliner exploded into floors 77 to 85 of the South Tower at 587 miles per hour, it was clear to everyone watching that this was no accident.

The nation was under attack. And the attack would not end until the Pentagon had been targeted by another hijacked airplane and a fourth plane had crashed into the ground in Somerset County, Pa., with passengers fighting to regain control of their airliner from the terrorists who had killed flight attendants and seized the cockpit.

The assaults had cost the nation the largest loss of life ever from a hostile attack by a foreign entity on American soil.

Before the day was over, it would be clear that New York and Washington, D.C., had paid dearly. The Fire Department of New York lost 343 members of its force, the New York Police Department lost 23, the Port Authority Police Department lost 37, and the Pentagon lost 125 military and civilian personnel.

The North Tower of the World Trade Center fell after burning for 102 minutes and the South Tower after 56 minutes. With structures weakened from tens of thousands of gallons of burning jet fuel, the steel buckled in each of the buildings, bringing them down in 10 seconds of chaos, noise and terror and killing all but a miraculous few who were left inside. Again, viewers around the world saw the horror unfold on their television screens.

At the Pentagon, the outermost ring of offices, known as the E-Ring, suffered a similar fate, collapsing under the assault of the intense fire lit by an explosion of jet fuel when American Airlines Flight 77 had plowed into its western façade at 530 miles per hour.

As Americans watched the rescue efforts in New York and Washington, and as they began to hear the stories of passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, who had heard of the tragedies via phone calls to loved ones and voted to deny their hijackers the opportunity to complete their terrible plan — even if it cost them their lives — there were new faces to be associated with the word “hero.”

Our heroes had become the firefighters who ran up the stairs of the two towers and into what must have seemed hell itself to try to rescue people trapped by the flames. They were the passengers who rushed the cockpit of Flight 93 as blade-wielding terrorists sought to fly into Washington to destroy another high-profile target and take countless more innocent lives. They were the firefighters and paramedics and volunteers from the street who rushed to the scenes of carnage in New York and Washington in an attempt to find and rescue survivors.

Today, we remember those heroes. We mourn with the families of those who were lost. And we resolve once again that our American spirit will not be broken by those who harbor hatred for this great nation.

10 years later

WiNNiNG on the streets and winning on

ThE pliGhT of Today’s Athletes

Today’s athletes are raised playing on a different type of playground. The challenges of crime and violence in communities has infiltrated the world of sports. From professional leagues to little leagues, the stakeholders of athletics are now faced with a challenge of coaching beyond the playing field. The influence of the “gangsta” lifestyle has created a new form of aggression for our athletes on and off the field.

hoW CAN WE KEEp our AThlETEs sAFE?

hoW CAN lEAGuE oFFiCiAls AND CoAChEs rECoGNizE A plAyEr AT risK?

hoW CAN WE prEVENT ViolENCE iN sporTs?

GANGs iN sporTs

Athletes in the Crossfire

WE oFFEr:

TrAiNiNG Interactive workshops for players from youth, high school and college sports to professional athletes.

TrAiNiNG For league officials and coaches on how to identify the presence of gangs and players at risk.

EVAluATioN Are gangs a problem in your league? We have an evaluation method to assist you.

CoNsulTATioN For league officials, coaches and players on prevention, intervention and enforcement of gang-related behavior.

TEChNiCAl AssisTANCE Assistance in policy development and program evaluation.

the FiElD, for many AThlETEs, is not the same.

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Lesson One

JUSTIN JUMPS IN

For Justin, life has been hard. His mother and father do not get along and he argues constantly with his brother and sister. Now that he has turned sixteen, he is eligible to drive, but his parents refuse to take him to get his license. He feels depressed and longs for someone to show him some respect.

Antonio has the answer for Justin. “If you want real respect, you need to hook up with my posse.” Justin and Antonio have been friends for years, but Justin has always resisted joining Antonio’s group because he does not agree with the way that they treat people. On several occasions, the group has attacked innocent people without reason. But Justin is now convinced that if he ever wants to be accepted that this is his chance.

Justin finally decides to join the “Southside Posse.” He first has to meet Chico, the group’s leader. Chico is nineteen years of age, but he hangs out with students in high school. He quit school at age sixteen, he has never held a job, and he claims that he is not worried about money. Chico believes that if he needs it, he will take it.

The stage is set and Justin is officially going to become a member of the “Southside Posse,” but first he must pass the test.

To join the group Justin will have to go through a “beat in” ceremony where several group members will physically assault him until they draw blood.

In addition, Chico has ordered that Justin join six members of the group who plan to torch a rival gang member’s house. Chico’s motto is “If you want respect, you have to pay the price.”

Lesson Two

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

DIVIDED LOYALTY

Dalesha is at the top of her game. She has a supportive family, good grades and she is working on a basketball scholarship to a major university. Currently, she is leading the district with a 24 point per game average. College coaches have lined up for a chance to recruit Dalesha and her future appears to be bright.

But Dalesha has a problem with selecting the wrong friends. She is currently being investigated for her role in a large fight between two female groups at a local mall. Although she claims that she is innocent, witnesses have stated that Dalesha was wearing gang attire and participated in the incident which destroyed food court furniture. Several members of a rival girl’s basketball team have evidence that Dalesha has sent messages through the internet threatening additional violence against the “southside Hood,” a known community street gang. The evidence will connect Dalesha to the “Northside Mob,” a feared gang in the north side of town.

The local police have determined that Dalesha is a key suspect in the fight and property damage and she will be arrested and charged with gang offenses later this week. Members of her basketball team have heard the news and they are concerned whether Dalesha will be playing in the upcoming Championship tournament. What will her coach say about the situation? Will this impact her ability to play in college?