Colonel Rosen retires after 23 years of service

  • Published
  • By Auburn Davis
  • 45 Space Wing Public Affairs
Col. Lee W. Rosen, Commander of 45th Launch Group at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., retired Thursday after 23 years of service to the United States of America.

Col. Rosen grew up in the Boston area and graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1988. Throughout his career he served in a variety of space operations, acquisition and maintenance positions in Strategic Air Command, the  National Reconnais-sance Office (NRO) and Air Force Space Command.

His staff tours included Program Element Monitor for the Defense Space Reconnaissance Program and Executive Assistant to the Director of the NRO. Col. Rosen commanded the 4th Space Launch Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base and was a  distinguished graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Most recently, he was the Director of the Counterspace Group, Space Superiority Systems Wing at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

Some of his major military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritor-ious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Achieve-ment Medal with two oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal.

He is also certified as Acquisition Program Management Level III, Financial Management Level II, Communications and Computers Level II, and a Certified Project Manager (PMP) from the Project Management Institute.

Col. Rosen led the 45th Launch Group which is the Space Wing¹s focal point for Department of Defense (DoD), civil and commercial space launch-related activities. The group also provides vital operations, engineering and maintenance support for launch vehicles and government satellites launched from the Eastern Range.

According to Col. Rosen, the future of the 45th Space Wing and the Launch Group looks bright. "We don¹t see challenges, we see opportunities. There are tremendous opportunities to first and foremost continue our laser focus on 100% mission success." He emphasizes that the continuing success of the group has been a team effort. "Our entire launch team including our entire wing, our mission partners, the local community, our contractors, our customers at NASA, the NRO and SMC, and many others make any success we have happen collectively."

To the next commander of the 45th Launch Group, Col. Rosen leaves some words of wisdom, "We have the most amazing people in our group and our wing; just give them the tools they need to do their jobs, and watch the magic happen," said Col. Rosen. "It's been an honor and pleasure to serve with you Shark Warriors! To success!"

On a more personal note, Col. Rosen thanks his family, "There's no question that my greatest success is my beautiful family. Family is the reason that we all do what we do; to ensure we serve and protect them and our way of life."