Members of Delta Force, the US Army’s elite counterterrorist unit, who are in Hungary for a training exercise receive numerous false reports of attacks that have supposedly occurred in the United States and it takes two days before they have an accurate picture of what the terrorist attacks in the US involved. [Fury, 2008, pp. 56-59] Hundreds of US military personnel are in Europe for a major exercise called Jackal Cave. This exercise, run by the Joint Special Operations Command, involves participants tracking down mock terrorists and organized criminals who are supposedly trafficking in weapons of mass destruction (see (8:46 a.m.-9:03 a.m.) September 11, 2001). Many personnel who are involved in Jackal Cave have been settling into their temporary headquarters for the exercise, at the end of a taxiway at Taszár Air Base in Hungary. A Delta Force squadron that is participating in the exercise is housed in a couple of tents there. [Arkin, 2005, pp. 404; Naylor, 2015, pp. ix-xi]

Delta Force Officers Didn't Think the First Crash Was Terrorism - Tom Greer, a Delta Force officer, learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center while preparing for the exercise. His squadron operations sergeant, who he will later refer to only as “Bart,” came into his tent to relay some information to him and his squadron operations officer, “Super D.” While there, Bart casually mentioned, “Hey, a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.” Greer and Super D initially gave little thought to the news. “[N]o one was considering that terrorists might… be behind this new situation,” Greer will write. However, minutes later, Bart returned to the tent with a look of disbelief on his face and said: “Another plane just crashed into the other Trade Center building. Now they think it’s terrorists!” Greer and Super D went to their tactical operations center (TOC) to see if the television was on there, so they could watch the coverage of the attacks. The TOC, Greer will describe, was “wall to wall… with concerned soldiers, staff officers, commanders, [Army] Rangers, Army helicopter pilots, Air Force officers, and a few Delta [Force] operators.” Everyone there was watching CNN and trying to make sense of what was happening in the US.

Intelligence Updates Include Many False Reports - After a time, Greer and Super D return to their tent. There, intelligence analysts post hourly updates of what has happened in the US. However, the updates include numerous reports of incidents that never occurred. These alleged incidents, according to Greer, include an American F-15 fighter jet deliberately shooting down an airliner—American Airlines Flight 1089—over the Atlantic Ocean; an F-15 shooting down an airliner—Delta Air Lines Flight 766—over northwest Virginia; and an F-16 fighter following an airliner—United Airlines Flight 283—that is believed to be heading toward Washington, DC, and is not responding to communications. The F-16’s pilot is authorized to use “lethal force” if the airliner reaches US airspace. Additionally, the updates report that the Capitol building and the White House have been hit by jumbo jets, and are both on fire.

Updates Record 13 Hijackings - By the morning of September 12, the updates have included reports of 13 airliners being hijacked. Of these, four airliners were supposedly shot down over land or water by American fighters while the other nine airliners supposedly hit targets in New York and Washington. Greer and his colleagues only gain an accurate picture of what the 9/11 attacks involved on September 13. Greer will state why he thinks they initially received so much incorrect information, writing, “Miscommunication, manifested in multiple reports by various news agencies of the same event, the jammed telephone lines and cell towers bulging from maximum usage, and the fact we were on the other side of the world had contributed to the fantastic and inaccurate reports.” [Fury, 2008, pp. 57-60]