Once upon a time, Minot AFB was rumored to be a place that no first term Security Forces Airman wanted to be a part of. It was among the few bases in the Air Force that everyone seemed to have an opinion about, especially those who had never been stationed there. It’s safe to say that Minot AFB was among the most ominous of bases which filled first term Airmen with dread. Well, that stigma is about to change. Thanks in no small part to the Defender “Day in the Life of the 91st SFG” honest and real-talk video that was recently released.

The concept was originally spearheaded by Colonel Thomas Segars who took command of the 91st Security Forces Group in the summer 2020. The atmosphere surrounding Minot AFB stigma was at an all-time low, and General Ray, Air Force Global Strike Command, wanted a change. Col Segars, Chief Sullivan, MSgt Greg Willingham and several others launched a mission to find ways to show new Airmen the actual truth about Minot life and not the glorified ‘doom and gloom’. The concept of “Defender Culture” was about to take a new shape.

Col Segars thought of a way to start right at the source and develop a video project based on real life Airmen currently stationed at Minot AFB. But first, he needed the help and buy-in of the Group’s four squadron leadership teams. Segars said, “Their senior enlisted leaders were the entirety of Defender Culture, including this video. Without their support, it would have failed.”

The video sets out to represent actual highs and lows of the base, the SFG mission and North Dakota as a whole. So, Segars commissioned the 3rd Audio Visual Squadron out of Lackland AFB to create a video to represent the truth of the base. Matthew Hester and his team from Lackland made their way to Minot AFB in late 2021 to begin the filming process. The filming team selected SFG Security Forces Airmen to interview and film all without interference, scripts or even knowledge from leadership. Segars wanted the video to be completely organic and not influenced by leadership perceptions.

By May 2022, the first draft of the video came through and by June of that year Col Segars transitioned out of the Group Commander role and handed the torch to Colonel Anthony McCarty. He also handed off in good faith the work of the “Day in the Life” video concept still in progress. Col McCarty gracefully took on the challenge. After two more rounds of filming (in all seasons and weather conditions) editing and other legal paperwork, the video was ready for its initial test showing in May 2023. It began showing at the Security Forces schoolhouse as part of the training for new Airmen. Lt Col Brian Mack, 343 TRS Commander at Lackland AFB at the time, gave his thoughts about the video saying, “I think the video provides an emotional connection between a new Defender and one that is already stationed at Minot. I think it provides a sense of reassurance to a new troop that Minot is really not what they initially believed it to be. The reassurance comes from the body language and smiles of Airmen they see on the video. It provides them a connection with someone that is closer to their own rank, age, and experience.”

The video itself presents actual SFG Airmen who post out to the missile field, experience life and share all their truths:

• “I absolutely love the sense of community out here. It is probably one of my favorite things about Minot. We’re all here together. It’s kind of like a remote location, like Minot does not have a lot around it, but it brings us all together.”

• “ It sucks at first, but it becomes beautiful because people open up.”

• “It boils down to the people here”

As the final release of the video was published on DVIDS in November 2023, the video seems to be working as it’s intended purpose. Upon seeing the completed video, Col Segars remarked that it “ [the video] was impressive and hit the mark of what it was trying to convey with funny and real stories from the Airmen themselves.” Segars was thrilled with the way the finished product came out and was pleased to have been able to see a project team work so nicely even between command changes.

Col McCarty was also pleased with the video and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Airmen had a lot of positive things to say about Minot. McCarty also mentioned this was a huge team effort and wanted to give a special shout out to MSgt Willingham, who was a lead on the project from the very beginning and all members of his Security Forces Group Defender Culture team for their efforts in making the video a huge success.

Going forward, the video will be shown at the Security Forces apprentice course before assignment drop in hopes of presenting the realistic perspective of Minot AFB instead of the glamorized horror-rumored version that previously circulated around basic training and tech school.

As the “Day in the Life: 91st Security Forces Group” realistic video begins to become a staple of all Security Forces members training, time will tell if it results in any real change in the stigma that previously was Minot AFB.
Watch, share and let us know your thoughts about the DVIDS “Day in the Life: 91st Security Forces Group” Video here >>>>>https://www.dvidshub.net/video/905374/day-life-91st-security-forces-group