Presidential thanks

U.S. President George W. Bush shakes hands with Boeing employee Sam Jones as Dan Wagoner looks on during a tour of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production line on April 16 in St. Louis. The President came to the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems facility to thank employees "for your efforts and your work" in helping coalition military forces succeed in missions to defeat terrorism and tyranny. "The successes of our military begin right here on the factory floor," Bush told about 1,000 cheering employees in F/A-18E/F final assembly. "The quality of the workmanship that goes into the aircraft that you build here is one of the main reasons why we were successful in making the world a more peaceful place." The appearance of the nation's 43rd president electrified the crowd. "It was the first time in my entire life I had seen the President live," said William Locke, a precision subassembler who viewed the event from on top of one of two Super Hornets that flanked the President as he delivered his remarks. "It's something I never dreamed would happen. And to be that close! I really enjoyed it."

Boeing ads honor troops

Newspapers in select Boeing Integrated Defense Systems site markets carried a special message from Boeing, starting the week of March 31. That message: "Freedom Stands Because Heroes Serve."

This phrase was the headline in a series of advertisements that honor the U.S. Armed Forces. The ads, which also appeared in major aerospace and defense trade magazines and publications serving the Washington, D.C., area, served as a tribute from Boeing and its employees to troops involved in the Iraq conflict.

One of the ads appears on the back cover of this issue of Boeing Frontiers.

Senator thanks JDAM team

Members of the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems team who design and build the Joint Direct Attack Munition received a "profound thanks" last month from U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond. "I'm here to say thanks to you, the men and women of Boeing, who are doing a fantastic job," Bond said during a tour of the JDAM assembly line in St. Charles, Mo. If coalition service members could send a message to the JDAM team, Bond said, it would be that "our lives, our livelihood and our safety are greatly enhanced because of the work you do here."

Boeing technology aids world relief

Visualization software from Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems Washington Operations—previously known as Autometric—is powering a new multimedia Web site designed to improve world humanitarian efforts. The secure site uses software based on Boeing's Edge visualization technology. It provides imaging and display tools enabling the International Organization for Migration's operations staff to enhance services to refugees and other displaced individuals. IOM is the leading international humanitarian organization managing global migration. Boeing and National Geographic are the lead corporate sponsors of the IOM project.

USAF undersecretary visits Decatur

Peter Teets, undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force, made a visit in April to Decatur, Ala., to tour the facility where Delta IV rockets are made. Teets was shown the production operation and vehicle hardware and addressed employees at the plant. The Delta plant in Decatur employs nearly 600.

"What you do here is very important," Teets told the crowd of about 460 people. He pointed out that the work Boeing does with launch vehicles and satellites has been critical to military operations in the war on terrorism. "You have a 100-percent success rate with the Delta IV rocket, and I hope it continues."

The Delta IV is one of two U.S. launch systems that supports the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. Boeing received 22 of the 29 initial EELV launch awards from the Air Force. The first mission of the EELV program—flown aboard a Delta IV on March 10—successfully delivered to orbit DSCS III, a satellite for the Defense Satellite Communications System. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Boeing will dedicate Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., later this year, with the first West Coast launch planned for early next year.

DoD official tours Delta IV facility

Lisa Brunson, U.S. Department of Defense Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, Technology Security Policy and Counterproliferation, toured the Delta IV Horizontal Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., in April. Brunson received a firsthand look at the Delta IV Heavy Demonstration center Common Booster Core that is slated to launch in the fall. David Garner, director of Space Directorate, Defense Technology Security Administration, joined Brunson on the tour. Brunson and her colleagues were at the Cape to witness the launch of the AsiaSat 4 telecommunications satellite, which Boeing Satellite Systems built.