The attacks of September 11 reshaped American security, but the most revealing lessons often sit inside the logistics, the improvisation, and the human decisions made in the first hours.
On this episode of STARRS & Stripes podcast (watch or listen below), host retired Navy Commander Al Palmer talks with STARRS Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors, retired Navy Captain Jerry Rovner, a career deep sea diver and salvage officer who was working across the harbor from Manhattan.
He was scheduled for a meeting at World Trade Center Building 7 when it was suddenly canceled, and within minutes he watched the towers burn and fall.
What follows is not a distant history lecture, but a firsthand 9/11 Ground Zero account that shows how emergency management really works when plans break, roads close, and every agency is short on people.
Rovner’s story also spotlights a lesser-known homeland security tool: the New Jersey Naval Militia concept and how state activation can bridge gaps when federal forces are stretched.
He describes being pulled back into service after resisting the idea of returning, then building a capable pool of trained volunteers with boat credentials and operational discipline. That preparedness mattered when bridges and tunnels shut down and New Jersey needed waterborne options, fast.
Listeners hear the nuts-and-bolts of civil-military coordination: finding CDL drivers, acquiring trucks, staging gear, moving medical teams, and integrating with National Guard and Air Force units at Fort Dix and McGuire. It is crisis leadership under pressure, where credibility and competence replace bureaucracy.
The episode gets concrete about risk and recovery work. Rovner recalls being warned to wear masks because the buildings contained asbestos, a reminder that disaster response and public health collide in real time. He details Liberty State Park as a staging ground, the use of a refurbished tender to move medical supplies when normal routes were closed, and the decision to help reopen the George Washington Bridge after checking for threats.
The missions expanded into sustained security operations, including waterborne patrols around sensitive sites and long-duration watches connected to nuclear security and infrastructure protection. It is Operation Noble Eagle at street level: unglamorous, relentless, and essential.
Just as important, the conversation shows the emotional cost and the strength of military families. A letter from Rovner’s daughter captures what many Americans experienced: the shock of the news, then the gut-drop moment when a loved one puts on a uniform and leaves with no clear return date.
That perspective reframes 9/11 remembrance as more than flags and speeches. It becomes a call to preserve civic memory, teach younger generations what happened, and rebuild a culture of service where people still ask, “If not me, then who?”
For anyone searching for 9/11 lessons learned, disaster preparedness insights, or leadership examples rooted in real operations, this story offers a clear, human blueprint.
Be sure to stay after the end of the podcast to see the photographs from Rovner’s PowerPoint presentation that he show when giving talks about 9/11.
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0:00 Welcome And Why 9/11 Matters
2:05 From Draft Lottery To Navy Diving
6:50 Rebuilding The New Jersey Naval Militia
11:50 The Morning The Towers Were Hit
17:30 Activated Fast And Sent For Trucks
22:50 Liberty State Park Boat Supply Runs
27:40 Opening Bridges And Managing Chaos
33:30 Guarding Weapons Sites And Lakehurst
41:30 Briefing The Pentagon Then Emergency Landing
46:50 Dog Food Convoys And Fresh Kills Reality
53:20 The Family Cost And A Daughter’s Letter
59:20 Service Culture Education And What We Forgot
1:05:40 Final Thanks And Sign Off
STARRS Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors Captain Jerry Rovner, US Navy (Ret.), has 37 years military service, both active duty and reserve service. He served as a Deep-Sea Diving and Salvage officer and was assigned to the USS Ortolan (ASR-22) as the Deep Submergence Officer, where he was responsible for submarine rescue operations.
He holds certifications as a Saturation Deep-Sea Diver, a Surface Warfare Officer, and a Special Operations Officer. Rovner commanded a US Navy expedition to conduct the underwater historical survey of the Panama Canal, as part of the canal turnover.
He was reactivated September 11th, 2001, and is the recipient of the Legion of Honor award from the Chapel of Four Chaplains for his military service at ground zero following the events of 9/11.
Rovner has thirty-plus years business experience as a VP with a Fortune 1000 company, and as a small business owner, consultant, and college instructor teaching Business courses.
He was named Veteran Champion of the year in 2006 by the SBA. He is the Vice Commander General Commandery Support of The Naval Order of the United States, & Vice President of the Naval Orders Foundation (A United States historical sea serve organization), and also Director of the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education.
Rovner holds bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and in American History from the University of Wisconsin, and a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Pepperdine University.
May we all give our prays to those lost on 9/11.