As a journalist writing a story, you sometimes are forced into situations that are at best, getting information to be knowledgeable enough to write a good story, one that gets and holds the attention of the reader.

Four years ago, I had the pleasure of accepting a job with the Northern Sentry. I would be in marketing and sales for the Northern Sentry, along with writing stories for the weekly editions of the paper. Doesn’t seem too hard, right? The job description in itself was something I could handle. Little did I know, however, that covering a base with two nuclear missions would be such a challenge. Minot Air Force Base is a community with many moving parts. On any day you could probably have your choice of 3-4 stories.

Driving by Minot Air Force Base you can take inventory of the many B-52’s that are parked on, or near the runway. More exciting though, is a take-off or landing of a B-52. The roar of the engines as they power to the sky those magnificent planes. A B-52 landing is also one of those lifetime events as they touch down on the runway and deploy the chutes that help bring them to a stop.

The missile side of the mission at Minot Air Force Base is just as amazing. Missile control structures and silos dot the prairie landscape around Minot. There are maps that show the locations of these structures. Ranging in a “C-like” formation, they cover an area from that ranges from 75 miles north and west of Minot, to 75 miles south and east of Minot. There are three missile squadrons, each in charge of 50 missiles. That’s a total of 150 missiles staged in an 8600 square mile area.

Again, driving one of the missile silos, you have no understanding of the amount of work and skills that it takes to keep these “guardians of peace” on alert and ready 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With each squadron there are maintenance and security forces. Perhaps you have seen a convey moving a nuclear warhead. With helicopters overhead and security vehicles on the roads below, the warheads are moved in all kinds of weather conditions.

I am only touching on the very tip of what it takes to keep Minot Air Force Base, the home of two of the three nuclear legs of the United States Nuclear Triad. Specialized equipment is certainly a key to the successful implementation of the missions of the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, but as in any business, people are always more important than equipment. In my four years of reporting on Minot Air Force Base, I have met and talked to hundreds of young men and women who are the backbone of Minot Air Force Base. As civilians we should take the time to appreciate and thank them for what they do, every day. Every job is important, and we are the benefactors of these young men and women who have what it takes to keep America free.

Best Kept Secrets
Tours of the Garrison Dam Fish Hatchery, located just below the Garrison Dam, near Riverdale.
Tours can be scheduled in advance by calling the office or emailing request. We give tours to groups nearly year-round and have worked with everyone from preschool classes to retirement homes. Typically tour groups are led into several of our buildings that are closed to the public. Sometimes kids get a chance to touch a fish or other critters that call the hatchery homes. Groups typically visit our aquarium before or after their hatchery tour. The tours are about an hour long and the admission is free.

Today’s Chuckle
Kids might do better keeping on the straight and narrow if they got directions from someone who had actually traveled that road.