of Staff. Myers was the first Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be appointed chairman, since the role was established in 1987 after the enactment of Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986. September 11 Attacks On the morning of September 11, 2001 Myers was on Capitol Hill to meet Georgia Senator Max Cleland for his scheduled courtesy calls before his Senate confirmation hearings to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While waiting for the senator, Myers watched a television news network in the outer office of Senator Cleland that a plane had just hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A few minutes later Myers was informed by his military aide Captain Chris Donahue about the hijacked plane that just hit the second tower of the World Trade Center. Later on General Ralph Eberhart, the Commander-in-Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, managed to contact Myers and inform him about the recent hijacking situation. Myers then immediately left Capitol Hill to proceed back to The Pentagon, where he was informed that this time another commercial airplane had just hit the western side of The Pentagon. During the crisis, Myers became the Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, since General Hugh Shelton was en route to Europe for a NATO Summit. Upon arriving at The Pentagon and after a rendezvous with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Myers then conferred with Secretary Rumsfeld about the current situation and the next steps to be taken. Myers took command as the Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for half of the day during the September 11 crisis, until General Shelton arrived back in Washington after he aborted his flight to Europe at 5:40 P.M. local time. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Myers was sworn in as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2001. He served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council during the earliest stages of the War on Terror, including planning of the War in Afghanistan and planning and execution of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A few days later, on October 7, 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom was initiated. Myers and General Tommy Franks, the commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), coordinated the early stage of Operation Enduring Freedom. Within three