How 9/11 reshaped Colorado Springs
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Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station in Colorado Springs. Photo: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Twenty-five years ago, the Sept. 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and transformed Colorado Springs' role in national defense.
Why it matters: NORAD personnel at Cheyenne Mountain shifted from a Cold War exercise to a real-world emergency that Tuesday in 2001, coordinating fighter scrambles and the nationwide grounding of commercial flights.
- The attacks permanently expanded NORAD's mission and led to U.S. Northern Command's creation at Peterson in 2002, cementing the city's role in homeland defense and civil support.
What they're saying: "We remember. We have the Watch," NORAD and USNORTHCOM spokesperson Col. Dave Herndon told Axios in a statement marking the anniversary.
Flashforward: At least seven events will honor those killed, those who answered the call and others forever changed by 9/11.
6:30am, Manitou Incline — First responders will gather before a 6:46am climb marking the moment Flight 11 struck the North Tower and honoring the 343 firefighters killed that day. Register here.
- The Incline reopens to the public at 9am.
6:30-7:30am, Monument Fire Station 1 — A memorial timed to the attacks on the Twin Towers.
8am, Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center — A ceremony with local leaders, followed by a community food distribution at Norris Penrose Event Center's upper lot.
9:45am, Mitchell High School — The school's annual commemoration honors alum Kathryn Yancey LaBorie, a flight attendant killed aboard United Flight 175.
11am-noon, UCCS — The flag will be lowered before a walk to the campus 9/11 memorial for a wreath-laying and moment of silence.
3pm, IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial — City and public safety leaders will gather at Memorial Park, where honor guards will present and recovered World Trade Center steel will be displayed.
- Retired CSFD Capt. Patrick Rogacki's brother will discuss Rogacki's deployment to Ground Zero and later death from a 9/11-related illness.
The commemorations are free and open to the public.