It has been a decade since the tragic terrorist attack on Khobar Towers. The target? Americans. Nineteen Airmen died in the blast and hundreds of servicemembers -- including Saudis and those from other countries -- were wounded.
The tanker truck, packed with an estimated 5,000 pounds of plastic explosives, blasted the face off Bldg. 131, ripping the concrete face off the building housing America's troops. It left behind a crater 35 feet by 85 feet.
And it left countless scarred hearts.
The attack changed the way the Air Force viewed force protection. On June 21, 2001 -- almost five years to the day after the tragedy -- Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of 14 people on charges of murder and conspiracy in connection with the attack.
Antiterrorism took the forefront in the Air Force.
"The mentality of the Air Force has changed. Everything has changed," Sergeant Guerrero said. "I was glad to be a part of that. We've gotten so much better since that incident."
Because of the attack, the Air Force developed the Level II Antiterrorism course, increased stand-off distances, and improved communication.
"It's just sad that 19 people had to die for us to change our mentality," the sergeant said.
So Sergeant Guerrero believes that force protection is everybody's business.
"It doesn't matter who they are. Everybody's a sensor now. There aren't enough cops out there to see everything. It's everybody's responsibility to report what's going on," said Sergeant Guerrero, who is from Modesto, Calif., and is now stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. He teaches antiterrorism there and abroad.
The main focus of antiterrorism efforts is to make people a harder target to reach, said Tech. Sgt. Bryce Van Devender of the 37th Security Forces Squadron's anti-terrorism department at Lackland AFB, Texas.
"The Air Force makes people less of a target by implementing random access measures, doing vulnerability assessments, giving awareness training, forming force protection and threat working groups, and creating structured emergency plans," the sergeant said.
But Sergeant Van Devender said no amount of precaution will eliminate the threat to American servicemembers, no matter where they serve.
"There always will be a threat from international terrorists, criminal threats, foreign intelligence, domestic terrorists and so on," he said. "The world is always changing and terrorism along with it. With the United States going to war against terrorism we have to be aware of the threat at all times and make ourselves as unpredictable and uninviting as possible."
Ten years after the fateful attack, Sergeant Oldham, of Shawneetown, Ill., still thinks of the tragedy in Dhahran as surreal.
"You never expect something like that to happen to you," he said. "I wasn't expecting a terrorist attack, for God's sake."
Since the deadly attack, Sergeant Guerrero has lived being totally aware of his surroundings -- all the things the antiterrorism courses teach. He has instilled the practices into his day-to-day life, even when he books an airplane flight.
Sergeant Guerrero said people have to open their eyes and be more aware of their surroundings. They no longer have a choice.
"We simply can't walk around with blinders on," he said. "You're a target. Be cautious in what you do. Be observant. Know your threats. Train for the inevitable."
There is a memorial to the 19 airmen killed in the terrorist bombing. The Khobar Towers Memorial exhibit opened in June at Gunter Annex, near Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., on the third anniversary of the bombing.
The 19 airmen killed in the blast were:
Capt. Christopher J. Adams
Capt. Leland T. Haun
Master Sgt. Michael G. Heiser
Master Sgt. Kendall K. Kitson Jr.
Tech. Sgt. Patrick P. Fennig
Tech. Sgt. Thanh V. Nguyen
Staff Sgt. Daniel B. Cafourek
Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Johnson
Staff Sgt. Ronald L. King
Sgt. Millard D. Campbell
Senior Airman Earl F. Cartrette Jr.
Senior Airman Jeremy A. Taylor
Airman 1st Class Christopher B. Lester
Airman 1st Class Brent E. Marthaler
Airman 1st Class Brian W. McVeigh
Airman 1st Class Peter J. Morgera
Airman 1st Class Joseph E. Rimkus
Airman 1st Class Justin R. Wood
Airman 1st Class Joshua E. Woody
