From 12th Man to counterterrorism: Barry Stevens remembers 9/11

Key notes from Barry Stevens interview

• On Sept. 11, 2001, my dad woke me up in Phoenix and told me to turn on the news. My wife and I watched the second tower get hit and then got ready to head to the office.
   
• Before 9/11, counterterrorism was viewed as slow work. We didn’t go to court and we didn’t do Title III’s. After 9/11, it was all hands on deck. Everybody was working counter terrorism work, running down leads and such.
   
• When you talk about the FBI, or any big bureaucratic agencies, a piece of information can get caught in the work somewhere. We had an agent who had some source information providing information on targets of interest taking flying lessons in Tucson, who didn't appear interested in learning the land. It caused this agent’s antenna to go up. He felt it was important, but it got stuck in the works somewhere. It wasn’t disregarded, but in a big organization like the FBI, you don’t go around chasing rabbits. There was no way pieces could have been put together that a terrorist attack was imminent.
   
• Once is a mistake and twice is intentional. Everyone in my line of work immediately knew we had a problem. It was all hands on deck. We had agents from virtually every organization. It was alphabet soup. We were all communicating and working together back and forth.
   
• I am friends with Porter Garner, and he knew my wife and I were getting run ragged and barely saw each other. A few weeks after 9/11, Porter called and asked if we wanted to come to the Iowa State game. It was a very packed crowd, and my wife, Sonya, who had never been to an A&M game, was taken aback by the football game. She said, “What’s the big deal?” The guy behind her goes, “Lady, it’s a football game.” The game was a nice break before going back to the mixing bowl in Phoenix, Arizona.
   
• My philosophy was always, “If they don’t like you, they don’t talk to you.” My best interrogation tool was a cold Pepsi, a honey bun, and a pack of cigarettes. I developed a rapport with a Tier 2 Al-Qaeda operative. I never forgot who he was or what he did, but he spoke good English. We had some very good open and frank conversations. I would collect the information and pass it along to the operators so they could act on the information provided. He looked at me like a typical American who thinks his country is the best, and he asked, “What makes America great?” I had some peanut M&M’s and handed some to him and said, “That is what makes America great.” He understood the humor behind it, laughed and then said, “Tell me about Walmart.” So for the next hour I told him about Walmart. I never liked him or grew close to him, but we had a good working rapport. His parting words were that we were going to see each other on the slopes in Dubai. After my FBI career, I prayed to Jesus that I did not see him on the slopes in Dubai.
   
• I got really lucky ending up on the original kickoff team for Jackie Sherrill. There were a lot of great athletes who tried out. I’m not sure if Sherril felt sorry for me or if he respected me. I was the last name alphabetically called on the list. It was a long, brutal and fun process. I was at the end of my senior year and given an extension by the military to come back to play football. To be perfectly honest, I was on the sidelines for the first kickoff. The guys on the sideline were probably more afraid than the guys on the field because it was all riding on our shoulders. It was an offside kick, and nothing went the way we planned it, but the second one was perfect. It was a great group of guys and a wonderful experience. If you talk to anyone who played with Sherrill, they’re going to say they’re his favorite. He taught us that we’re not walk-ons, but everyone has a second gear. He taught us about grit and having to keep going. That played out in my FBI, military and current career in the children’s hospital. He gave me a lot of opportunities, and I will be forever grateful to play for him and wear the number 12. I wanted to wear number six because I was in squadron six, so I threw the number 12 back and asked for six. We went back-and-forth about it. The body in the jersey doesn’t matter. The number represents the student body and those who came before and after. My wife and I are still always on call, so when your number is called, you have to be ready, no matter if you are tired.