Survival And Service: Robert Hogue's Journey From 9/11 To Transformation In The Marine Corps

On September 11th, 2001, Robert Hogue was in his office at the Pentagon when Flight 77 crashed into the building.

The attack changed him – how he viewed his life, and his service to the United States Marine Corps. For almost 20 years, he's served as legal counsel to the Marine Corps Commandant.

He’s been there, and helped guide the Corps through some of its most sweeping and radical changes.

The change hasn’t always come easily.

"You're always up against that challenge of why should I change what I'm doing now when it's working now?"

Today, On Point: Robert Hogue, and how far the U.S. Marine Corps has come, and where it’s going.

Robert Hogue, acting assistant secretary for the Navy's Manpower and Reserve Affairs. He previously served as counsel for the commandant in the U.S. Marine Corps for 17 years.

Thomas Brennan, journalist and founder of The War Horse, a non-profit newsroom that covers the human impact of military service. U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2010.

The War Horse: "Point of Impact: An Untold Story of Escape From the Pentagon on 9/11 and the Forever Wars That Followed" — "Bobby Hogue woke up on his office floor covered in jet fuel. Thick black smoke consumed the room, dancing in a searing amber glow. Hogue’s head and ears pounded. His body throbbed with pain."