Throughout the past three weeks, I’ve written about the history of the base and the 50th Space Wing.  Schriever Week celebrates all of the organizations that make up the team.  That community includes joint and sister-service units, as well as a variety of Air Force units performing other space-related missions that are not a part of, but support or partner with, the 50th Space Wing.  My last article for Schriever Week is a quick summary of those mission partners that contribute, and have contributed, to the community.

11th Space Warning Squadron: The squadron is a geographically-separated unit of the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado. The mission of 11 SWS is to provide U.S. and allied forces with worldwide missile warning, battle-space awareness, technical intelligence and missile defense data through space-based infrared, highly elliptical operations.

21st Medical Squadron: The mission of the squadron is to provide seamless, patient-focused care to the Schriever population, including retirees. This care includes diagnostic, preventative and treatment related health care services. The squadron also provides patient education and continuity of care for health maintenance as well as for the acute and chronic management of disease and injury.

53rd Signal Battalion (Satellite Control): The mission of U.S. Army Strategic Command’s 53rd Signal Battalion is to operate, maintain and sustain three contingency Defense Satellite Communications System control platforms to provide positive platform, payload and communications network control of DSCS and Wideband Global SATCOM satellites to the unified and specified combatant command commander, the National Command Authority and other customers approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

100th Missile Defense Brigade, Missile Defense Element: The 100th Missile Defense Brigade’s Missile Defense Element is located in the missile defense integration and operations center. MDE functions include conducting the operational level execution of the Ground Based Midcourse Missile Defense Limited Defensive Operations mission for the U.S. Northern Command commander. In this respect, MDE provides operational and tactical recommendations to the NORTHCOM commander, synchronizes operations and conducts fire distribution across multiple ground-based midcourse defense fire direction centers, conducts battle planning for potential follow-on launches of threat ballistic missiles and, as required, de-conflicts the operational pictures for warning and missile defense missions. MDE also manages Army GMD force readiness conditions and develops and reports overall GMD operational capability. It provides day-to-day control of GMD FDCs, performs analyses and develops responses to NORTHCOM commander, command director and missile defense officer questions and provides back up mission execution capability for the firing unit FDCs.

310th Space Wing: The 310th Space Wing, the only space wing in the Air Force Reserve, has units assigned to Schriever, Peterson and Buckley Air Force Bases in Colorado, as well as Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The wing provides optimized, scalable combat ready forces delivering space and cyberspace power for faster, more lethal, more accurate affects every day, everywhere.

527th Space Aggressor Squadron: The squadron prepares USAF, joint and allied forces for combat through realistic threat replication, training and feedback through specialized and certified space-capable aggressors. It operates adversary space systems, develops new tactics, techniques and procedures to counter threats, and improves the U.S. military space posture.

Air Force Technical Applications Center, Detachment 46: Air Force Technical Applications Center, Detachment 46 supports the Nuclear Detonation Detection System payload on board the Global Positioning System satellite constellation. NDS data is used in AFTAC’s worldwide Nuclear Test Ban Treaty monitoring system, the Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack.

Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense: The headquarters is located in the Missile Defense Integration-Operations Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. The BMDS is operational to defend against all ranges of ballistic missile threats. The command’s location allows JFCC IMD to leverage the existing infrastructure and its strong partnerships to execute IMD planning and operational support responsibilities. This modern defense network is expanding to include radars and other sensors that feed information from the air, land, sea and space environments to battle management centers that can direct interceptors to targets. The JFCC IMD began operations in February 2005.

Missile Defense Agency: The Missile Defense Agency’s mission is to develop, test and field an integrated, layered, ballistic missile defense system to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies and friends against all ranges of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight.

Missile Defense Integration & Operations Center: The Missile Defense Agency’s Integration and Operations Center supports research and development, system-level tests and evaluation and provides operational and training support to U.S. combatant commands. Missile Defense Agency operations for missile defense capabilities have been executed at Schriever since 1988.

Naval Satellite Operations Center Detachment Delta: The Naval Satellite Operations Center Detachment Delta is located in Building 400. The unit’s primary mission is to provide hot backup operations for Navy space command headquarters located at Point Mugu, California. Primary constellations supported include Fleet Satellite, Ultra High Frequency Follow On, and Mobile User Objective System

Space and Missile Systems Center, Detachment 11: The Space and Missile Systems Center, a subordinate unit of Air Force Space Command, is the center of technical excellence for developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining military space systems. SMC’s mission is to deliver resilient and affordable space capabilities. The center is responsible for on-orbit check-out, testing, sustainment and maintenance of military satellite constellations and other Department of Defense space systems.

United States Air Force Warfare Center: The USAFWC exists to ensure deployed forces are well-trained and well-equipped to conduct integrated combat operations. From testing and tactics development programs to training schools and venues, the USAFWC provides Airmen with valuable resources and services. The USAFWC vision, mission and priorities are central to supporting the Air Combat Command’s mission to provide dominant combat airpower for America with warrior Airmen committed to excellence, trained to fly, fight and win...anytime, anyplace. Several units of the USAFWC, including the Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities operate from Schriever.

United States Naval Observatory, Alternate Master Clock: The United States Naval Observatory provides a wide range of astronomical data and products. USNO products support activities in astrometry, astronomical applications, Earth orientation and precise time. The USNO serves as the official source of time for the Department of Defense and a standard of time for the entire United States. This segment of the USNO mission enhances many applications, including space operations, command, control, communications, computer networks, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, positioning, navigation and timing. The Alternate Master Clock is the backup of the USNO’s Master Clock facility in Washington, D.C., and provides precise time to the 50th Space Wing and tenant organizations on Schriever.