FBI Richmond chief on 25 years since 9/11: 'It's what motivates us. It's what drives us.'

RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will mark 25 years since the 9/11 attacks and for those who were around when it happened, almost everyone can recall where they were when they found out.

For the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI Richmond field office, that place was on a submarine somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean.

"Everyone's experiences on 9/11 are personal to them. Mine was a little bit unique," said SAC Ian Kaufmann.

Kaufmann had enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1996 and served as a Navy diver, working as an underwater repairman in Norfolk. He transitioned to a SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team and was stationed out of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach when 9/11 took place.

While on the dive operation in the South Pacific, the then 22-year-old said word started spreading about something that had happened.

"As you can imagine, 25 years ago communications weren't what they are today. I heard of 9/11 mostly through rumor and conversation of people on the submarine. A lot of speculation. It wasn't until later that day that the commanding officer of the submarine made an announcement," Kaufmann said very few details were shared and the crew did not get a fuller understanding until they arrived in a port three days later.

"I saw for the first time…the images of the towers collapsing, of the Pentagon, of the plane in Pennsylvania," recalled Kaufmann. "A lot of speculation, a lot of rumors, a lot of anxiety about how the world was changing in those three days. We all had a sense that there was a significant change occurring. We could feel it. We didn't know it until we got out. We didn't have the opportunity to communicate with loved ones to see the images ourselves. So when we did, it was certainly impactful, as I'm sure it was to everyone that day, but it was a little bit of a delayed sort of reaction to understanding the magnitude of what had occurred that day."

Provided to WTVR

Kaufmann said when he returned to Little Creek, he continued supporting dive operations for a SEAL team. He eventually became an officer and continued serving stateside and abroad (but not to any warzones). He retired as a lieutenant in 2007 and joined the FBI.

"I wanted to stay in public service. I wanted to continue to serve the country. It's something that I always felt a calling towards. So that was an easy decision."

Kaufmann said the majority of his assignments were in counter-terrorism and served in offices in Connecticut, Norfolk, and Tampa, and at FBI headquarters, where he managed investigations primarily in Western Europe.

"The FBI has been responsible and unequivocally responsible for stopping, preventing, mitigating terrorist threats, plots, attacks all over the world," said Kaufmann. "I've had foreign partners ask me why the FBI is so invested in preventing and stopping terrorist attacks in other parts of the world, and I typically use a sports analogy, which is the FBI would prefer to play as many away games as we can rather than a home game."

Reflecting on the legacy of 9/11 on the intelligence community, Kaufmann said among them was improving communication and information between law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

"There were a lot of details regarding information sharing and where there was breakdowns, a breakdown in information sharing across agencies and sometimes even within agencies," said Kaufmann. "It also changed and broadened our tools, capabilities, authorities to identify, detect, investigate terrorist activity, both domestically and overseas."

Kaufmann said another change was that less than half of FBI field offices had joint terrorism task forces (JTTF) before the attacks and now all do.

"What that is, is a collection of local, state, federal agencies, all under the that all work within the FBI. So the FBI leads the JTTF, and -- within the scope of the Constitution, laws, policies -- have the mission and the mandate to conduct counter-terrorism investigations and operations."

Provided to WTVR

And while 9/11 changed how the FBI operates, Kaufmann said the same is true for terrorists. He said among the biggest challenges is how terrorists communicate using encrypted applications, making tracking them tougher.

"The other significant change has been the way terrorist organizations recruit. So, 25 years ago, someone would be recruited through personal connection, word of mouth. They would often travel somewhere where they were provided training to go conduct a terrorist attack somewhere else," he said. "Today, it's exponentially more difficult because people would-be terrorists are radicalized online. That can happen very quickly and without it being alerting to law enforcement. So, there is no travel. They're not necessarily connecting with other people of interest, whether domestically or overseas. They're self-radicalizing, and they're actually being encouraged to conduct attacks locally where they are in order to avoid detection."

On the 25th anniversary, Kaufmann said FBI Richmond will be honoring the lives lost with their annual tribute "Richmond 3,000" where staff will walk or run around the building a collective 3,000 times. Every three laps around the building roughly equates to one mile. The most they have completed in one day was over 6,000.

"We will be reflecting on, obviously, those lives that were lost on that day, to include one active FBI Special Agent, Lenny Hatton, died on 9/11. He was driving to work when the first tower was hit, he stopped to provide assistance, was in the second tower when the second tower collapsed, and he died," said Kaufmann. "So, we will be honoring and recognizing all of those who have given their life, who did give their lives on that day and since through military operation, through exposure to different toxins. So, there are a lot of effects that continue to linger and a lot of reflection that should happen continuously. It's what motivates us. It's what drives us."

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