11th SWS takes home Gen. Seth McKee award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Musal
  • 460th Space Wing Public Affairs
The 11th Space Warning Squadron, a geographically separated unit of the 460th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., was awarded the Gen. Seth J. McKee Award for Best Space Warning Squadron during the 2009 Air Force Space Command Space Operations Awards.

"This award signifies the outstanding work and efforts of the men and women flying the Space-Based Infrared System Highly-Elliptical Orbit satellite constellation," said Lt. Col. Shawn Fairhurst, 11th SWS commander. "While the award may say "11th SWS," it also represents the outstanding efforts of our reserve associate unit, 8th Space Warning Squadron Detachment 1, and of our contractor support team. We are extremely proud of what we accomplished and honored to be recognized as the Best Missile Warning Unit for 2009."

Among their many accomplishments, members of the 11th SWS were lauded for leading AFSPC in highly-elliptical orbit satellite operations, certifying the entire crew for combat-mission ready capability in under 90 days and their unit-run software upgrade, a first in AFSPC.

The award is named for Gen. Seth J. McKee, a former commander of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Aerospace Command, who retired in 1973, and recognizes the best Space Warning Squadron in AFSPC.