My seat for the Air and Space Force Association banquet was randomly chosen. It was my responsibility to take photos of the Commander’s Choice Award Winners. The Northern Sentry is also a member of the AFA, so both Ted, publisher of the Northern Sentry, and me were there in support of the 42 Airmen and civilians that received the awards.

The awards ceremony went off without a hitch, including Col. Jesse Lamarand’s speech, which is covered in another story in this edition of the Northern Sentry.

Although I was only able to talk to a few of the recipients, what they shared kind of defined the evening. By their very nature and design the Commanders Choice Awards allow a commander to choose someone who may not get recognized for their efforts or exceptional service. One young man probably said it best. I have been at Minot Air Force Base for 7 years, and next summer I will PCS out. In those 7 years very little exciting has happened. I do my job and really, I like Minot. But now I can leave next year and wherever I go, I will have this award to put up in my office. It’s pretty special.

Another young Airmen talked about how it will be special to her Mom and Dad, both Air Force retired veterans. “I’m an Air Force brat” she said, “and this award is really for doing my job.” When I told her that all of the photos would be in the Northern Sentry she said that would make sure and get a copy to send to her parents. “You know they’ll tell all of the neighbors. The retirement village where they live has a lot of retired Air Force veterans.”
That’s kind of the way it is with awards like the Commander’s Choice. There are no rules that define who receive the award, it truly is the squadron commander’s choice of the Airmen or civilian that deserves the award. In most cases, but not all, it is the unsung hero in the squadron. The Northern Sentry is certainly proud to be a member of the AFA, and we are proud of the 42 recipients of the 2025 Commander’s Choice awards. Check out the special section in this week’s Northern Sentry.

Homework Time
I was on the road this week, a little grandkid time as my youngest grandson turned 5. Granddaughter Addely, (the only granddaughter-the one who has grandpa wrapped around her little finger as they would say), asked me to read a book to her as she was headed to bed. The book was about reaching for the stars, and all of the planets. We talked about how there are no 8 planets because Pluto was a planet no more. I told Addely that sometime she can join us on our sailboat and we can watch the International Space Station as it crosses North Dakota. “International Space Station?” Addely asked, “what is that?” That triggered BePa to go into hyper information sharing mode. I am, and always will be, a big fan of the ISS. We started with how they built the space station taking small modules up one at a time. “Do they have air on the space station” Addely asks. Well yes, they have several ways of creating oxygen. We could have talked about electrolysis that allows the space station to take water and split out the oxygen molecule, but that lesson will probably be left for another day.

“How do people get to the space station? How many people are there on the space station?” Well, Addely, there are normally about 10 people on the International Space station, and they get there in a spacecraft from earth. There were 2 people that were only supposed to be there a few days and ended up staying about 6 months, I answered.

“So, I guess I can someday be number 11?” she asks with a determined voice. I very proudly answer “You know Addely, you just have to set your goals, and who knows what will happen when you are grown up.” And then a bit of a teaching moment as Addely looks up and says “Yeah, everything seems to happen when you grow up.” Grandkids are great, aren’t they?

It’s Only A Word!
I may have shared with you that my grandkids call me BePa. I even have a BePa license plate on my pickup. Once in a while one of the grandkids will refer to me as grandpa, which is OK, but really I prefer BePa. But a bit of reality struck this week when my oldest grandson, now 13, was talking to me about his upcoming Caribbean cruise (I know…we never did Caribbean cruises when we were kids). Well grandfather, it will be a lot of fun. What? Grandfather? That’s some old guy who walks with a cane, and has grey hair and well, that’s not me. “Grandfather, Carter? Why am I grandfather?” Carter kind of chuckles and explains…” Well, because I think you’ve been around long enough and you’ve earned the right to be called Grandfather.” I was about to answer something like, “that’s what you call that big clock that sits in the corner and chimes every 15 minutes”, but hey, he’s my grandson, and if he thinks that I’ve earned the title of grandfather, then so be it. Grandfather, although I still think that is my Dad’s dad, it is. Reality sets in.

Best Kept Secrets
PCS season is upon us, and I was recently asked, “If there was one must see place you would go before I PCS out on May 22nd, where would it be?” Oh boy! Good question. I have always said that either the Pembina Gorge in northeast North Dakota, or the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park must see places, and not to far behind those locations is the Enchanted Highway off of I-94. Yes, there are a lot of other destinations in North Dakota that would be on the must see list, and maybe someday I will write a book that is titled “Touring North Dakota from the Minot Air Force Base.” I’ll put it on my To-Do list.

Today’s Chuckle(s)
A vacation in which you don’t have to answer work emails is called unemployment.
If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf.