505th CCW awarded AFOU Award Published July 29, 2007 By Capt. Nathan Broshear 505th CCW Public Affairs Hurlburt Field, Florida -- The 505th Command and Control Wing, the Air Force's "Gateway to operational-level command," has been awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its efforts in training, testing and exercising military members in Air Operations Center tactics, techniques and procedures from 2005 through 2006. "This award reflects the superb teamwork and commitment to excellence which is ingrained in the culture of this wing," said Col. Vincent DiFronzo, 505th CCW commander. "Every element of our unit, from Hurlburt Field, to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Kirtland AFB, N.M., and our geographically separated squadrons and detachments at Hill AFB, Utah, Seattle, Wash., Melbourne, Fla., and Fort Leavenworth, Kan., contributed to this award through their hard work and commitment." "The expertise throughout the 505th CCW is impressive, and the focus is singular: to deliver improved command and control capability to our war-fighting air component commanders, whether it's in the form of superbly trained personnel, improved tactics, techniques and procedures or better equipment through rigorous operational test and experimentation," Colonel DiFronzo added. Examples of exemplary performance by 505th CCW units were easy to find, explained the commander. "Whether it's the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron extending the life of 68 radars, Detachment 2, 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron developing new systems for the E-8 JSTARS, or the 505th Training Group delivering more than 1,800 fully trained AOC staff -- there are examples of outstanding service wingwide," Colonel DiFronzo said. Other notable achievements include the execution of 10 Virtual Flag exercises by the 705th Combat Training Squadron, the preparation of more than 1,500 warfighters for combat using their high-tech networking capability, the testing of North American Aerospace Defense Command systems by the 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron to catch critical problems to be corrected by Air Combat Command, and by the successful integration of Gulf Cooperation Council members by the 505th Combat Training Squadron into a Blue Flag exercise -- a first for the joint operational-level training event. Members of the 505th CCW who served during the award period are eligible to wear the ribbon immediately. For more information, visit www.hurlburt.af.mil.