|
27 August 2004 |
|
http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/space-missile-times/story_1-lead/leadstory.htm |
|
The ball commemorated 50 years of Air Force space and missile history and the people who made it happen. “We’re all here as a part of something bigger than ourselves,” said Col. Frank Gallegos, 30th Space Wing commander. “To pay tribute to a time in history that couldn’t possibly have existed without the efforts of so many men and women who all joined together to ... make the United States and the United States Air Force an unstoppable space power.” “I can think of no better place to celebrate the 50 years of Air Force space and missiles. Vandenberg truly is a remarkable place in the Air Force space business,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Hamel, 14th Air Force commander. “We represent the full spectrum of what it is we do as a military in terms of controlling and exploiting space to give America’s warriors a fighting edge.” The ballroom was decked with models of launch vehicles and spacecraft and the tables adorned with fact sheets about important milestones and people of the last 50 years. “There is no exact point in time when we can say ‘This is when it all began,’ so we in the Air Force trace our roots to 1954 when a whole sequence of events launched us into the space business,” General Hamel said. The key events that hailed 1954 as a watershed year in America’s space in missile program were the acceleration of the nation’s ICBM fleet, creation of a reconnaissance satellite program and the development of the Western Development Division headed by Brig. Gen. Bernard Schriever. These events formed the foundation for all Air Force space capabilities today. During the festivities, Robert Wycoff, a Vandenberg launch site support engineer, recited his poem entitled “Victors In the Cold War,” which recalls the events of the last 50 years in rhyming verse. Following dinner, retired Maj. Gen. G. Wesley Clark, who was the vice commander of Air Force Space Command, elaborated on the organizations and events that heralded America’s emergence as a space and missile power. “I hope each of our guests took away a personal thought or two about our space and missile heritage that resonated with them personally and what they do today at Vandenberg and that they connect what they do now to their space and missile heritage of yesterday – and all the while had a good time learning it,” said Maj. Brian Smith, 4th Space Launch Squadron. Major Smith chairs the 50th Anniversary of AF Space and Missiles committee. Colonel Gallegos had these final thoughts for the crowd, “It’s impressive to see how far we’ve come in 50 years. It’s even more impressive to think of the vast possibilities that await us, and those we’ll discover in the next 50 years. We may not be here 50 years from now, but we can rest easy knowing we’ve all helped lay the foundation upon which an even greater era of space and missiles can and will be built.”
|
|
|
