COMMANDER’S CORNER: ACCOUNTABILITY STARTS WITH YOU - PAGE 2 Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Vol. 61 No. 10
6 months later: 18th SPCS all-stars continue to shine By Airman 1st Class Dennis Hoffman 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — During a ceremony July 22, 2016 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, the 21st Space Wing stood up the 18th Space Control Squadron. The 18th SPCS falls under the 21st Operations Group, and assumed the day-to-day Space Situational Awareness and routine satellite catalog maintenance missions from the Joint Space Operations Center, also located at Vandenberg. The organization responsible for tracking objects in space is now aligned with the units operating the sensors detecting those objects. When this space control squadron transitioned to the 21st SW, the realignment was realized by joining the tactical command and control organization with the space surveillance network systems. The 18th SPCS’s orbital predictions are key in maintaining space superiority. “The 18th SPCS is a perfect fit,” said Lt. Col. Marc Brock, 21st OG deputy commander. “We have realized synergies that we hadn’t realized before having only the front line tactical units that detect and track the objects in space. Having both ends of the business inside one organization improves our communication and increases our understanding of each end of the enterprise. It allows us to improve our ability to surveil all objects in space and really understand the space domain.” The newly aligned squadron processes observations of See Shine page 10
(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Robert J. Volio)
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Col. Troy Endicott, 21st Operations Group commander, assigns command of the 18th Space Control Squadron to Lt. Col. Scott Putnam, 18th SPCS commander, during an assumption of command ceremony, July 22, 2016, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Putnam assumed command of the 18th SPCS, the newest space surveillance unit that will fall under the 21st Space Wing.
Behind locked doors By Steve Kotecki 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
(U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Airmen of the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station Medical Aid Station participate in a mass casualty exercise during button-up contingency triage training at the Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo., March 3, 2017. The training is designed to stress Cheyenne Mountain AFS medical responders, who are on call from Peterson Air Force Base Medical Clinic to simulate the stress that a future buttoned up mass casualty event could cause.
Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo. — The blast doors to Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, are closed. Tech. Sgt. Lynor Hardy, Cheyenne Mountain AFS Medical Aid Station, independent medical technician, and the 21st Medical Dental Group button-up team are standing by. An alarm sounds and Hardy briefs her team. There’s been a simulated explosion in one of the battery bays followed by reports of several casualties on March 3, 2017. Minutes after the explosion, six Airmen are brought into the makeshift triage center to have their wounds assessed. There are simulated burns, abrasions and severed arteries. Instead of the chaos that one might expect, Hardy’s team gets to work saving lives, because in this instance, during a Cheyenne Mountain AFS contingency, they’re isolated from the rest of the world for an indefinite amount of time. This is the kind of hands-on training Hardy likes to use for her staff. All of the acting victims are dressed up with moulage, a make-up kit similar to Hollywood special effects, to give the wounds a more realistic appearance. “It’s important to try and make it a little more realistic, that See Locked Doors page 12
INSIDE News Briefs Crossword Classifieds
1-16 4 21 22
Sharing community is not Bland Page 3
A celebration of Pi Page 5
The 21st Space Wing remins you... To set your clocks ahead 1 hour!
MARCH 12, 2017 at 2 a.m.