190 presumed dead in Pentagon attack; military readies next move

6:30 p.m.--Approximately 190 people are presumed dead as a result of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon Tuesday. That number includes 126 military, civilian and contractor employees who were in the Pentagon and the 64 passengers on hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the building, destroying portions of its outermost ring.

Defense officials compiled a list of personnel that are not accounted for from Pentagon rosters. The missing are presumed dead. Names of the missing will be released after families have been notified. As of late Thursday afternoon, only families of Navy personnel had been notified.

The following is the breakdown of those unaccounted for since Tuesday's attack:

• Army: 21 military, 47 civilian, 6 contractor
• Navy: 33 military, 5 civilian, 4 contractor
• Defense agencies: 10 people

Assisting New York

While Pentagon personnel struggled to cope with the void left by missing colleagues in Tuesday's attack, the Defense Department reached out to lower Manhattan, where the twin 110-story towers of the World Trade Center collapsed along with a third, 47-story building and the devastation is widespread.

"All services are prepared to do whatever it takes to assist civilian authorities there," said Brig. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, deputy director of Army operations. Vaughn is responsible for coordinating and deploying all military support to civilian authorities in times of crisis.

Under the lead of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Defense Department is aiding the recovery effort in New York by transporting supplies and equipment, providing medical support and deploying security forces and special emergency response units, Vaughn said. In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers is providing structural engineering support to authorities there.

As part of military support to the city, the Navy deployed one of its hospital ships, the USNS Comfort. The Comfort was expected to arrive in New York Harbor on Friday, with a crew of 61 civilians and 730 military medical and support personnel.

The ship can provide services comparable to a large trauma center, according to Navy officials. It accommodates up to 1,000 beds, is equipped with 12 operating rooms, a medical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab and two oxygen-producing plants.

Vaughn declined to provide details of the Pentagon's support in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in history, but said, "We have provided a lot of support all over the United States and overseas."

'Enormous' Need

The Bush administration has requested an additional $20 billion before the fiscal year ends this month to pay for the extraordinary costs associated with responding to the attack. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told reporters the money was necessary to pay for recovery operations, to assist victims and their families and to beef up national security.

"The needs are so enormous," said Wolfowitz. "A significant portion of this request is going to bring the armed forces to the highest level of preparedness," he said. Regarding the current security situation, Wolfowitz added, "This is a completely different ballgame we're in now."

Senior Defense officials have emphasized repeatedly over the last two days their expectation that military forces will be called upon for further operations. "We're operating under the assumption that we haven't seen the last of these criminals," Wolfowitz said. "It's not going to end until these people are defeated," he added, referring to the perpetrators of Tuesday's attack.

Duty Calls

In the meantime, Pentagon employees were focusing on the work at hand. Many of them arrived at work Thursday to find their offices had been established elsewhere, at least temporarily. Office space has been created at military installations in northern Virginia, including Fort Belvoir, Fort Myer, the Navy Annex and the Marine Corps's Henderson Hall installation, both a short distance west of the Pentagon in Virginia. In addition, some employees have been relocated to sites as far away as 80 miles from the Capitol, said one officer who serves on the Joint Staff. He declined to give the location, and was unsure if the move would be temporary.

While Pentagon operations have hardly returned to business as usual, the section of the building nearest the Potomac River--the portion least affected--took on a greater air of normalcy this morning. Metro resumed service to the Pentagon yesterday afternoon for employees with building passes. By 8 a.m. today, the cafeteria was buzzing and the halls were full of employees in workday attire. Yesterday, soldiers clad in combat fatigues guarded empty hallways with M-16 rifles; today, many fewer soldiers were posted so visibly. Instead, signs were posted at the end of those hallways directing employees to new locations.

Near the now-closed Metro entrance inside the Pentagon, medical personnel around 7:30 a.m. began setting up a makeshift blood bank. Before medical workers were even ready to receive them, a long line snaked through the corridors of employees waiting for the opportunity to donate blood. One enlisted soldier, who didn't want his name used, said it was the one positive thing he felt he could do. "I'm just so angry. You feel so helpless, not really being able to do much except wait for details. I'm tired of just waiting."

Military personnel may not be waiting for long. In a videotaped message to troops and civilians at home and abroad, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, "It is my duty, as head of this department, to tell you that more, much more, will be asked of you in the weeks and months ahead. "The task of vanquishing these terrible enemies and in protecting the American people and the cause of human freedom will fall to you, the men and women in the Department of Defense."

Rumsfeld said the Pentagon is a place dedicated to the ethos of heroism. "I know I am speaking to many now, especially those of you in the field, those of you who wear the uniform of our country, who will in the days ahead also be called heroes. I salute each of you for your conduct and commitment. And without hesitation, I ask you now to stay the course in the challenging days ahead."