|
|
About Us Board of Directors Preserving Heritage Outstanding Missileers Reunions & Meetings Membership & Dues Keeping Informed Contact Missileers Newsletter Library Museum Store & Donations Missile Patch Gallery  Latest News for Missileers "The Warble Tone" Click Here 
|
  GLCM Launch |
| Association of Air Force Missileers "Victors in the Cold War" - sponsors several awards to recognize active duty officer and enlisted missileers and missile units. Air Force Global Strike Command On 1 December 2009, the Air Force ICBM force moved from Air Force Space Command to the new Air Force Global Strike Command. AF Global Strike Command is headquartered at Barkskale AFB, LA. AAFM awards programs have transitioned to the new command. The General Samuel Phillips Award for Operations - awarded annually by Air Force Global Strike Command to the outstanding missile operations squadron. General Phillips was a pioneer in intercontinental ballistic missile development. Annual awards are announced on the "Warble Tone." The Colonel Edward Payne Award for Maintenance - originally awarded annually by Air Force Space Command to the missile maintenance squadron that does the most to improve the quality of life for maintenance technicians. Colonel Payne, who passed away in 2010, served both at Vandenberg and Ellsworth as a missile maintenance squadron commander and Deputy Commander for Maintenance. In 2008, AFSPC changed the award to a series of individual awards for outstanding maintenance personnel, and in 2009, the award was transitioned to the new Air Force Global Strike Command. Annual awards are announced on the "Warble Tone." The Missile Competition - the competition began as the SAC Missile Competition, Curtain Raiser in 1967, and continued as Olympic Arena from 1969 to 1993, was traditionally conducted annually at Vandenberg AFB, California. The event was renamed Guardian Challenge and became the Space and Missile Competition in 1994. The event was conducted every two years after 2002 and final events of the competition were moved to Peterson AFB, Colorado, in 2006. The last Guardian Challenge was 7-9 May 2008 at Peterson AFB, Colorado. Missile and space wing teams competed on their home turf, with the 20AF and 14AF evaluators going to each base for the comp exercises. Events at Peterson included the contractor expo, score posting and the awards banquet. AAFM was part of the expo and once again provided coins to each participant. The competition is now called the Global Strike Challenge, for bombers and missiles, and is conducted by Air Force Global Strike Command. Bomber and missile crews and teams competed at or from their home bases and gathered at Barksdale AFB, LA for the security events and score postings, combined with a symposium for participants and others. AAFM is one of the sponsors of the symposium. A number of AAFM board members attend each Challenge and we provide a commemorative coin to each participant, featuring the comp logo on the front and our logo on the back. Coins are available for collectors on our donations/store page. At the 2011 Global Strike Challenge in November 2011, the 90th Missile Wing at Warren took the Blanchard Trophy for best missile wing and the Fairchild Trophy went to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth. Complete results are in the AAFM newsletter for December 2011. 
Air Force Enlisted Hall - AAFM Board Member CMSgt (Retired) Mike Kenderes was inducted to the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall as the first USAF enlisted member to be recognized for contributions during the Cold War. Mike was inducted in a ceremony in August 2004 at Peterson AFB. General Lord, AFSPC Commander, AAFM President Lieutenant General (Ret) Jay Kelley and the Director of the Enlisted Hall at Maxwell AFB Gunter Annex, Alabama, took part in the dedication at a luncheon attended by many AAFM members and attendees of the Space and Missile Pioneers meeting in Colorado Springs. Maj Gen Tom Deppe, the vice commander of AF Space Command, was inducted into the Enlisted Heritage Hall Wall of Achievers in 2007 - he was enlisted for eleven years, rising to the rank of technical sergeant, before being commissioned. Link: http://afehri.maxwell.af.mil/ |