Albeez 1

Nurayda Albeez

Mr. Benitez

Government

12 August 2023

Touring the Pentagon

Upon hearing the words military or national security, most Americans think of the Pentagon:

the headquarters of the United States’ Department of Defense (DOD). The DOD is the primary

unit of the federal government responsible for protecting the nation’s security by providing

military resources (Phelps and Lehman 383). This summer, I had the opportunity to tour the

Pentagon and gain insight on the DOD’s extensive role in civilian safety throughout the United

States. Covering 29 acres with 17.5 miles of corridors and three times as much floor space as the

Empire State Building, the pentagon-shaped Pentagon is the second largest office building in the

world and has around 23,000 highly trained military and civilian employees (Knight). My

experience of touring the Pentagon helped me better understand the importance of government.

In this essay, I will analyze my experience to show how the purpose of government is to protect

its citizens by combating threats to civic security in everyday life.

The beginning of the Pentagon tour displayed exhibits for each of the 6 service branches that

make up the U.S. Armed Forces, which are under the DOD’s control. These branches are the

Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force. Each exhibit contained

the service branch’s emblem along with a visual depicting the service branch’s area of expertise.

First, the U.S. Navy exhibit showed its emblem of an eagle holding an anchor in order to convey
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how the Navy trains and organizes naval forces to win maritime conflicts and maintain a strong

maritime presence (“About”). Second, the U.S. Army exhibit showed how it works to fight and

win wars by defeating enemy ground forces and seizing valuable enemy resources like land

(“Who We Are”). Third, the U.S. Air Force exhibit showed its emblem consisting of wings to

express how the Air Force supports all 5 aspects of airpower: “air superiority; global strike; rapid

global mobility; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and command and control”

(“About Us”). Fourth, the U.S. Marine Corps exhibit showed its emblem of an eagle holding the

world with an anchor running through it in order to reveal how it is a part of the U.S. Navy that

is stationed all over the world to act as the superior crisis response force (“Who Are The”). Fifth,

the U.S. Coast Guard exhibit showed its emblem containing two anchors to depict how the Coast

Guard is America’s Maritime Guardian that deters complex threats and preserves marine

resources (“Coast Guard Roles”). Sixth, the U.S. Space Force exhibit showed its emblem of a

spaceship in order to indicate how the Space Force leads forces to conduct operations outside our

planet (“About The Space”).

Despite the significance communicated through these exhibits, what really shows the vast

presence of the U.S. Armed Forces and the DOD is the number of active duty personnel and

reserve personnel they have: 1.4 million active duty personnel in 2022 and a little over 800,000

reserve personnel in 2021 (“Active and reserve”; “Total United States”). These personnel

ultimately work to maintain a strong military presence worldwide and uphold the safety of

citizens, which is their biggest priority. This extensive preparation of the DOD proves how the

purpose of government is to protect its citizens by combating threats to civic security in everyday

life.
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Throughout the Pentagon tour, I was guided through corridor after corridor filled with offices

and passed countless government officials as well as active duty personnel. Due to the fact that it

is the headquarters of the DOD, the Pentagon is home to the Office of the Secretary of Defense,

the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and specific departments such as the Department of Defense Civilian

Personnel Advisory Service (DCPAS) and the Department of Defense Education Activity

(DODEA). The Secretary of Defense is the President’s primary defense advisor who formulates

and executes approved defense policies. With the President’s consent, the Secretary of Defense

has full control over the DOD (Phelps and Lehman 383). As a result, the President and the

Secretary of Defense are collectively referred to as the “National Command Authorities”. The

Joint Chiefs of Staff are made up of a chair, vice chair, and the 6 heads of the U.S. Armed

Forces. The chairman is the President’s primary military advisor who assists both the President

and the Secretary of Defense in organizing the armed forces to perform at their maximum

capacity (Knight). The DCPAS provides training services to civilian personnel, and the DODEA

works to improve personnel readiness through the implementation of highly advanced defense

programs (Phelps and Lehman 386). After explaining the roles of these departments, my tour

guide went on to discuss how most Pentagon personnel get little time off because threats are

always imminent. The fact that a majority of DOD authorities work around the clock

demonstrates that the purpose of government is to protect its citizens by combating threats to

civic security in everyday life.

The highlight of my Pentagon tour was going to see the Pentagon Memorial Chapel for the

September 11 attacks. This chapel is located at the exact crash site of the Pentagon attack and
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gives visitors the opportunity to reflect and heal. It is open 24 hours a day and holds services for

various faiths every week. A special feature of the chapel is a stained glass window with 184

pieces of red glass to represent the 184 victims of the attack. The September 11 Pentagon attack

was the DOD’s worst nightmare because several confidential papers were blown away from the

facility. However, the unit’s response was extremely effective because it not only worked to

immediately respond to the incident, but also develop standards to prevent data breaches in the

low possibility of another attack. One example of these standards is every Pentagon exit having

strong inward blowing fans so that private documents will not blow away. This exhibits how the

DOD consistently develops new technologies because the purpose of government is to protect its

citizens by combating threats to civic security in everyday life.

Being able to tour the Pentagon was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. I felt

honored to walk through the same hallways as U.S. Presidents and other esteemed dignitaries.

This opportunity allowed me to finally understand the Pentagon and the DOD’s role in my life

because I used to think that the unit only worked in Washington D.C. and overseas. I now

recognize that the purpose of government is to protect its citizens by combating threats to civic

security in everyday life through its specialized service branches with numerous personnel,

crucial departments who strive to keep the nation safe, and development of cutting-edge

technologies that are derived from the teachings of previous obstacles. Next time I hear the

words military or national security, I will think of the Pentagon and be filled with immense

gratitude for the DOD personnel who continuously strive for our well being.
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Appendix

This is a picture of me in front of the

Pentagon Visiting Center’s picture

backdrop. Afterwards, I went on a tour

of the Pentagon’s three floors above

ground where I saw scale models of

army battleships and learned more

about the 6 armed forces of the United

States. I even got to visit a variety of

special locations like the Pentagon

Memorial Chapel for the September 11

attacks.

This is a picture of a Lockheed P-38

Lightning replica I bought in the

Pentagon’s Fort America gift shop as a

souvenir. This large and powerful

aircraft was a game-changer in World

War 2 with its twin engine design and

1600 horsepower.
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