Welcome to Embers and Wind!

While most people remember where they were on 9/11, Guest Mark Pillar recounts his vivid memory being engaged in a Strategic Command simulated exercise, under the direction of Admiral Mies, when Admiral Mies canceled the exercise to respond to the attack on the World Trade Center: “Being a pilot, I mean there’s not a cloud in the sky. And so you’d think that maybe… Certainly air traffic control would not have vectored this airplane into the tower. Probably the guy had a heart attack or something like that and hit it inadvertently. And at the time we didn’t know what kind of airplane it was. We thought it was maybe a private airplane, a small Cessna or something like that. And so as we were watching the first tower burn, we saw the second airplane which obviously was a commercial jetliner, we saw that go right into the building and the fire shoot out the other end. And that changed everything. And Admiral Mies turned and said ‘That’s no accident! We’re under attack. Send a message, messages out to cancel the exercise, and we’ll go into real world operations.’”

I'm your host, Keith Weedman. In each podcast episode, you will hear stories. These stories will feel like a tender wind blowing on the embers of service that glow within you. In this weekly show, you will learn ideas, kindling for your embers. It will be your choice to utilize the gentle wind to ignite the kindling. 

In this episode, Mark Pillar shares his first passion was service to his country which he fulfilled by staying with the Air Force and then the Air Force Reserves long after his ROTC commitment was fulfilled. He talks about his work ethic and his willingness to step beyond his comfort zone resulted in him earning promotions “two levels above my competency.” In response to a direct question, he humbly acknowledges retiring as a Two Star Major General. He shares his experience on 9/11 and how he was engaged in a simulated exercise in the Strategic Command Center when the World Trade Center was struck. He references President Bush’s landing in their midst during the first day of the crisis. He shares how the U.S. Military responded to this attack including to the multiple subsequent threats made against the United States. He talks about how he transitioned from full-time with the Air Force to the Air Force Reserves which enabled him to work full-time for Delta Airlines. He notes while their children were growing up, he limited his engagement to their children’s activities and their church as he balanced two careers and traveling for days at a time. He states his retirement from Delta Airlines and the Air Force Reserves allowed him more time to get engaged in Columbus, Indiana where he lives. He shares that his passion for service before self, his military commitment, pulled him into Rotary. He talks about his passion for the Philharmonic and shares his pride for Rotary when 75% of the board members for the Philharmonic were Rotarians, an example of service before self.

To connect with Mark Pillar, his email address is: [email protected]. His cell phone number is: 317-514-7323. He welcomes the opportunity to provide his 9/11 briefing to your organization. He will donate his time. He has no company website. He closes with an invitation for you to accept this benevolent Call-to-Action: “Figure out what your passion is. Not everything can be your passion. But you can serve, you can serve others and heaven knows there’s enough need out there…. You don’t have to lead all of them, but you can participate, and you can help.”

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