Vic Minella was a Navy intelligence officer assigned to the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. His office, the Navy Command Center, was directly hit in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Vic wasn't there that morning. Several of his shipmates were.

That day changed the course of his life and launched decades of work in Navy intelligence, counterterrorism, clandestine and covert operations support, and eventually senior leadership inside the Pentagon.

In this episode of Not Special, Vic Minella takes us from growing up in a tiny Mississippi town to enlisting in the U.S. Navy, becoming a Navy corpsman, earning his commission, and entering Naval Intelligence.

Vic shares what it was like watching the 9/11 attacks unfold from home, learning that his Pentagon office had been hit, losing friends and colleagues, and carrying survivor's guilt in the years that followed.

He also takes us inside the largely unseen world of national security and counterterrorism—work that ultimately contributed to preventing hundreds of terrorist attacks and protecting American service members around the world.

We talk about:

• Growing up in rural Mississippi

• Enlisting in the Navy and becoming a corpsman

• Becoming a Naval Intelligence officer

• Where Vic was on September 11, 2001

• Losing his shipmates in the Pentagon attack

• Survivor's guilt and the aftermath of 9/11

• Returning to work as America prepared for war

• Supporting counterterrorism and special operations missions

• The team credited with helping stop 600+ terrorist attacks

• Rising from enlisted sailor to Senior Executive Service

• The critical role of civilians in national security

• Leadership, family, sacrifice and the cost of high-tempo work

• Finding purpose after decades of government service

Vic's story is also a reminder of how many people serve this country without ever wearing a uniform and how much of America's national security work happens far from public view.

From a town of roughly 300 people in Mississippi to some of the highest levels of the Pentagon, this is a story about service, loss, opportunity, leadership and what happens when an ordinary person is given an extraordinary opportunity.

#September11 #911 #Pentagon #NotSpecial

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