21st OG - Always Ready Published Dec. 23, 2009 By Col. Nina Armagno 21st Operations Group commander PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- "They know that Santa's on his way. He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh. And every mother's child is going to spy, to see if reindeer really know how to fly..." As North American Aerospace Defense Command Santa trackers and the rest of America get ready for Santa's annual flight, the men and women of the 21st Operations Group stand watch, "Always Ready" to detect and track Santa or anything else within their sensors' coverage. Not only do they stand ready on Christmas Eve, they ARE ready, on watch and on duty, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, at some of the world's most remote locations. From Thule, Greenland, to Clear, Alaska, to U.S. Central Command to Diego Garcia and points in between, the men and women of the 21st OG are deployed in theater and deployed in place. Their service spans from the snow drifts of Cavalier, N.D., to the beaches of Eglin, Fla. Coast to coast, from Beale AFB, Calif., to Cape Cod AFS, Mass., and Dahlgren, Va. They are in hot spots like Alamagordo, N.M., and Maui, Hawaii. From here at Peterson to Moron, Spain, and Fylingdales, United Kingdom. They are officer and enlisted, civilian and contractor, team members all. Although you may not see many of them here at Peterson AFB, they are the most integral part of the 21st OG. Our people are not only our source of manpower, but our essence of ability, ingenuity, accomplishment and pride. They provide missile warning, missile defense, space surveillance, and space control operations in defense of our nation and our allies, and in support of combat operations. This year, the 1,778 men and women of the 21st OG deployed 147 warrior Airmen to eight different locations. They used $3.2 billion in radars, optical telescopes, and other systems to track 27 missiles and 22,000 man-made objects in space. They tracked satellite breakups, collisions and interference, and new foreign launches. For their efforts, they won the 2009 Claire L. Chennault Trophy for the Best Operations Group in 14th Air Force, the 2009 Weaver award for "Best Operations Support Squadron in AFSPC with a Space Mission," the Electronic Warfare Team of the Year for AFSPC, the AFSPC Weather Flight of the Year, the Chief Master Sgt. Robert G.V. Pecqueur Award for "Best Space Surveillance Squadron" in AFSPC, and the Air Force Association Best Space Operations Crew of the Year. If this bunch can't track Santa Clause, no one can. But we in the operations group certainly cannot do it alone. The incredible support we receive from the 21st Mission Support Group, the 21st Medical Group, 821st Air Base Group, Director of Staff agencies and the 721st MSG make it possible to precisely execute our daily operations. From funding and finance to dental and medical, to communications, contracts and technical services - we rely on the amazing men and women from our sister groups and the wing as a whole, to help us operate our systems, run our installations, and develop our people. And, of course, we wouldn't have any success without our wonderful families who sacrifice in very personal ways for mission accomplishment. I for one sincerely appreciate your dedication - thank you all. So when you're roasting chestnuts on an open fire, exchanging gifts, spending time with family, or spying on Santa - however you celebrate the holiday season, please take a moment to think of the men and women of the 21st OG and all Airmen who are on duty at this very moment, deployed and deployed in place. Sentinels for peace, warriors in combat, and yes, trackers of Old Saint Nick.