Space-based Missile Warning: Then and Now

Transcript

when I first started my career in back in 2002 I was a ground systems operator for DSP I started them on the program basically right out of college back in nineteen eighty-three a year and a half ago I was a senior in high school just graduating had no idea what the Air Force was going to have for me I'm a 96 298 operator on DSP so we operated back in the day if you will my first assignment the Air Force was was here at Buckley at the end of about two years I was promoted to a crew commander from deputy commander until I left in in November of 86 and then I moved over to the joint space operations center and I worked there and planned everything that was going on with all of the operations within space more the newest spacecraft back then was DSP flight 16 I arrived here in January of 2015 got to go to training in may 2015 and finished training in July it was awesome we called it 95% boredom and five percent sheer adrenaline I really didn't know about the program at all until I got here to come here and be part of that early warning in the first notifiers the first detectors was really quite an incredible responsibility it was an interesting concept when I first started we didn't really have I didn't really have an understanding at first of how important it was until one day we had that a wounded warrior come back and talked to all of us and explained the importance of missile warning and what it does to those members downrange we found that members downrange we relied upon our data so very highly that some of them they were their lives were saved after being being through all the training that I went through and seeing the system i work on it's just amazing to see and it's just it's a taunt it's an honor to be able to work the way the job that I do and the things that made the headlines and we were in Bosnia and you know China and Taiwan were in crisis and you know we were we were in the middle of all of that I really take pride in what I do what I do every day is important to me and I believe that it it is very important to everybody but it's very most most important to me because of who it impacts I want to make sure that everybody stays us stay safe reflecting back on it at that time when when I was able to share it and share it with my kids who were just you know babies at the time you know so they weren't really aware they knew I worked at Buckley but they had no idea what my job was so it was really kind of neat that they got to understand that I had a key role in national security it's an honor to be able to work with the people I do and be able to work on the system I do just knowing that we were protecting our war fighters downrange and ensuring the safety of our our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan as well as everyone back here at home it's my blowing is what it is to mean I i I'm grateful for it every day because a I have family members that that have relied upon what we do every day I'm just grateful that I've had the opportunities that have had to work on this program and to watch it and see it grow and watch how how its evolved those operators out there today take note of what you're doing you're having a truly historic impact on the future of the nation because you are on point right now 24 7 365 and it's I know the nation and the country appreciates what you do you