Inside the Pentagon

Today I was given a tour of the Pentagon by our client. He had worked in the Pentagon for several years before his office was transferred to its current location in Crystal City. We got to see copies of the Congressional Medal of Honor on display as well as the names of all who have received it. It was amazing to learn that the Pentagon’s facilities include a Post Office, a DMV, a Bank of America, a Jeweler, a dry cleaner, a hair salon, several food establishes (including a McDonald’s of course), and a hospital. On the second floor near the old cafeteria was a display of painted portraits of those who have lost their lives in this war on terror. Throughout the corridors and hallways were flags, portraits, and displays telling stories of the history of the nation’s military involvements. But the most moving part of the tour was when we visited the second floor of the E ring between corridors 4 and 5.


On the wall is a map showing the path that American Airlines flight 77 tore through the building on September 11, 2001. The map shows the offices that were there, each desk, each chair, and the names of those that sat at those desks. Each name was written on a slip of paper of differing colors representing whether the person was killed, injured, unharmed, away from their desk, or not at work that day. It was a sobering moment, and I imagined what it must have been like to witness the tragedy unfold.

Outside, the Pentagon Memorial was still under construction. The design of the memorial is intensely meaningful and striking. It is simple but manages to tell the story of all who lost their lives at the Pentagon that day.

The Pentagon is currently undergoing renovation, and the contrast between the old and the new is stark. Glow in the dark strips line the halls near the floor with arrows pointing to the nearest exits. Windows on the E ring are tinted green due to a blast-resistant film that has been applied. Each exterior window on the E ring facing outward from the Pentagon also has a “knocker” that taps the window once a minute to create vibrations. The idea is to disrupt anyone’s ability to pick up conversations taking place inside the building.

We walked past the Offices of the Secretary of Defense as well as the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The renovated portions of the Pentagon are very nice. Since the building was built in 1941 there have been significant reasons to make changes. The plumbing, electric, communications, and HVAC systems were all outdated. When computers became widely used in the Department of Defense (DoD), offices found it hard to cool the air. The computers kept the air around 95 degrees most of the time. Networking cables were strung across floors and ceilings.

Another happenstance resulting from the era during which the building was constructed was the number of bathrooms. The Pentagon was built during the period of segregation, so there were twice as many bathrooms constructed. During the renovation many of the bathroom areas were converted to other services needing pipelines.

We concluded the tour by leaving the building through the concourse. All transportation has been located further from the building to create a buffer zone. Still, the buses and metro trains are a short walk away.