Retired Air Force officer to share 9/11 experience

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Glenn Carlson aboard the USS Blue Ridge. Courtesy photo/Aviation Museum of New Hampshire
LONDONDERRY — Glenn Carlson, who at the time was a B-52 electronic warfare officer in the U.S. Air Force, had just returned from a Red Flag exercise when America came under attack 24 years ago.
On Sept. 4, Carlson will be at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire to discuss what he saw from the air on that terrible Tuesday morning in September 2001. Carlson’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $10.
On the morning of the terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush was visiting Sandra Kay Daniels and her second grade class at Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.
As the attacks unfolded, Bush was rushed aboard Air Force One and flown 770 miles to Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, La.
Barksdale had communications equipment that allowed Bush to stay in contact with his top military commanders. Carlson was among the personnel at Barksdale waiting for the president.
During his 23 years in the military, Carlson took part in Operation Desert Shield during the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom during the War in Afghanistan and the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a federal effort to “counter the perceived security threat posed by China.” He also spent time as an instructor, research advisor and course director at Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Ala.
A Laconia resident, Carlson retired from the Air Force in 2007 having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. During his retirement, Carlson led the Electronic Attack Capability Group at BAE Systems in Nashua. In that capacity, he supervised more than 50 engineers and the operations of more than 30 programs.
Following his tenure at BAE, Carlson moved on to Elbit America in Merrimack, where he assumed the role of technical director for Electronic Warfare until September 2024.