Lynbrook Native Gives Rare Account of 9/11 Attacks

There are thousands among thousands of unique perspectives on what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but perhaps one of the most unique comes from someone who grew up in the Village of Lynbrook.

Lieutenant Colonel Susan A. Romano was born in Valley Stream and lived in Lynbrook until she joined the United State Air Force after graduating from Lynbrook High School in 1982.

She is currently the director of public affairs for First Air Force, but on Sept. 11, 2001, Romano was stationed as a public affairs officer at an F-16 base in New Mexico, where pilots would do training exercises and get ready for possible deployment to areas such as Southeast Asia and Iraq. Being deployed in the United States was not expected, but nearly 10 years ago, it happened.

According to Romano, the jets at her base were some of the first to go airborne immediately after the 9/11 attacks.

"When the attacks happened on 9/11, my boss got the call from the Secretary of Defense to put our jets in the air," she said. "... Whatever they were doing had such a far-deeper meaning because this was their homeland."

Romano said that since 9/11, First Air Force has responded with nearly 60,000 aircraft scrambles to neutralize possible threats.

"We do our best to make sure another 9/11 doesn't happen," she said.

Romano, who is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, along with a number of other awards and decorations, said the attacks have not faded with time — something she said has given her and First Air Force the resilience to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"People might think we're back to normal and we don't have to worry about that anymore. ... Well you know what? We're not taking the chance," she said. "We don't want it to happen again."

Romano said her personal belief is that it's better to err on the side of caution.

"It's easy to Monday morning quarterback and say 'Why did you spend all of that money for someone who just wanted an extra bag of peanuts?' I'd rather respond to the guy who wanted another pack of peanuts than the box cutter guy," she said. "I'll take my Monday morning hit instead of altering everybody's lifestyle for the rest of their lives because we didn't respond."

The organization that Romano is currently in was given the responsibility of Operation Noble Eagle, which was the command's response to the 9/11 attacks and homeland security.

Romano said First Air Force's role used to be to look outward on the borders of the United States, as opposed to a direct threat from inside the borders.

"It was a 'Cold War' mentality and we were looking at the threat from outside the border," she said. "When 9/11 happened, it was a completely different perspective and this command changed its mission."

As for the attacks, Romano said she remembers exactly how devastating they truly were and still are, but also remembers how her team and country reacted that day.

"I saw a well-oiled machine with my command element. From my commander on down, I saw rational, calm reaction to horrific events," she said. "... It was heartbreaking and fascinating at the same time, if that makes any sense."