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46th Test Wing garners Air Force Award

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  • 46th Test Wing
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Secretary of the Air Force recently awarded an Air Force Outstanding Unit award to the 46th Test Wing for 2010. This award recognizes the top 10 percent of numbered Air Force units, a distinction the 46th Test Wing has now earned for the past 13 years.

"We absolutely could not succeed without the great units that make up Team Eglin," said Col. Colin Miller, 46th Test Wing commander.

Miller shares the distinction of this Air Force award with all of the missions that make up Eglin Air Force Base.

"From the Air Force Research Laboratory that develops the underlying technology, to the program offices in the Air Armament Center that develop it, to our operational test counterparts in the 53d Wing that provide the final utility assessment of our weapons, to the support we receive from the tenant wings and other users who share the range, to the foundational support of the 96th Air Base Wing; all were instrumental in our success," said Miller.

The 46th Test Wing performed more than 5,600 air and ground test missions and logged more than 6,200 flying hours while testing 37 highly modified test aircraft worth approximately 4.5 billion dollars.

Some of the essential weapon systems tested for both U.S. and allied forces included the Small Diameter Bomb I & II, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, and the Trident Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile.

"These are just a few of the numerous programs we work on a daily basis," said Miller. "We are involved in the fielding of just about every weapon system in theater and take great pride in the role we play keeping our military armed and safe with some of the greatest weapon technology to date."

In addition to its own mission and supporting the onset of the joint strike fighter and the 7th Special Forces Group, the 46th Test Wing has also been an important player in many other Department of Defense services, clocking more than 57,000 hours of air and ground training.

"The hard work and dedication of the professionals of the 46th Test Wing is truly impressive and has immediate and direct impacts on the young men and women serving in harm's way overseas," said Miller. "We are honored to receive the Air Force Outstanding Unit award."