21st SW wins Herres Award Published May 7, 2008 By Corey Dahl 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The 21st Space Wing has been awarded the 2007 Gen. Robert T. Herres Award, recognizing the wing as the best space wing with a space mission in the Air Force. The award recognizes the 21st SW for the work its men and women performed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007. During that time, the wing conducted missile warning and space control operations essential to protecting the country and supporting ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. "This award would not have been possible without the unique contributions and dedication of every member of this wing," said Col. Jay Raymond, 21st SW commander. "At no other time in our Air Force has the value of our Airmen been so high. This award is a testament to the quality of our personnel and every member of the 21st Space Wing should be justifiably proud." The wing spent much of 2007 working with the Joint Space Operations Center following China's successful test of an anti-satellite weapon in January 2007. Airmen in the 21st SW helped detect, track and catalogue more than 2,000 pieces of debris following the shoot-down. Last year, the wing also saw the addition of the 16th Space Control Squadron, which officially stood up in May 2007 and added an important defensive counter-space unit to the wing. The 16th SPCS is in charge of the Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System, or RAIDRS. In use since July 2005, RAIDRS detects and locates sources of satellite interference, friendly or otherwise, and then works to solve the problem. Additionally, the wing improved and upgraded its early warning radars and space surveillance sensors to increase their tracking capacity and overall network capability. It was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award in 2007 for its world-class missile warning and space superiority operations. The 21st SW spans 41 units, 12 weapon systems, 27 locations and five countries. The wing last won the Herres Award in 2003.