Retired Lt. Col. Robert Darling

Retired Lt. Col. Robert Darling used to fly President Bill Clinton as a White House airlift operations officer.

Having also flown in missions with the Marine Corps., Darling was familiar with matters of national security and how different departments in Washington, D.C. operated.

But on Sept. 11, 2001, he watched as high ranking staffers and residents alike evacuated the White House, and dumped their belongings to get to safety in what he described as uncertain chaos.

“I got to the top of the Eisenhower steps and had to stop for just a moment,” Darling said. “The White House is arguably the most secure piece of real estate in the world... but on 9/11 they had the gates to the south wide open, they had the gates to the north open.”

Unlike many people who were directed into sanctuaries outside the district, Darling would spend the next 24 hours inside a secure bunker, where staffers debriefed and discussed options with president George W. Bush and vice president Dick Cheney.

Darling shared his memories of that day in a keynote speech at Slippery Rock University Tuesday, with an audience that included many students from the homeland/corporate security program.

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