Ever since the early 1950s, there’s been a military presence in North Dakota beginning with the Minot and Grand Forks Air Force bases. And just like any other military reservation, personnel who staff those bases normally move on when their hitch is up.
First, there was Minot and Grand Forks, then several small radar bases were built with one remaining, near Cavalier. In addition, the National Guard began to grow. Once upon a time, the North Dakota National Guard was a weekend to get away from the routine for a couple of days. And since Desert Storm, it has become the well-respected military branch it should have always been.
But the Air Force is the place to start here. Although Grand Forks has seen plenty of changes since it was built, Minot has been more consistent in its mission and its growth. At the front gate of the Minot Air Force Base is a large sign that says “Only the Best Come North.”
When people who may have grown up in Florida, Texas or California see that sign for the first time, I’m sure they wonder what they got themselves into. However, as their tours develop, they begin to see things that tell them Minot isn’t as bad as they’ve been led to believe.
Enter Task Force 21. This is an organization that exists solely to forge a better relationship between the city of Minot, the county of Ward and the Minot Air Force Base.
Some of the young airmen stationed here see that too and quickly understand the commitment the local community has made to the military.
For these reasons, numerous people who leave the Air Force choose to stay in Minot. Despite being from places like Florida, Texas or California, they turn in their uniforms for Carhartts.
The National Guard is becoming quite similar to the Air Force in that respect. Camp Grafton, near Devils Lake, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 50 years. As that military reservation has developed, more and more full-time Guardsmen were brought in to operate the sprawling camp.
And, as the Army popularity of what was happening at Camp Grafton became apparent, leadership began looking outside of North Dakota to fill many of the full-time positions that were rapidly becoming available.
This is where the Guard is a bit different than the Air Force, but the end result appears to be the same. Soldiers come to Camp Grafton from all over the U.S. for short-term training on everything from operating a bulldozer to being a better cook in the kitchen.
Those training blocks usually run several weeks to several months and when they are done, those Soldiers typically go back to where they were originally from; Savannah, Georgia, Amherst, Massachusetts, Biloxi, Mississippi and even places like Guam and Puerto Rico.
Some of those Soldiers are offered full-time positions while they are here and accept the offer and Devils Lake becomes their new home.
But it isn’t just a good place to be a Soldier. Many of these people like it here and are committed to making Devils Lake a better place to live and work. Fishing and water recreation are obvious reasons to gravitate toward Devils Lake, but there are numerous other amenities that keep Soldiers here.
Many of them become pillars of the community, not just Devils Lake, but surrounding communities such as Lakota, Minnewaukan or New Rockford. In Minot’s case, Surrey, Burlington or Berthold and in Grand Forks’ case, East Grand Forks, Larimore, Hillsboro and even Grafton.
Having worked at Camp Grafton for eight years, I got to know many of the Soldiers from out of state who decided to stay here and make a life on the northern tier of North Dakota.
We’ve lived here all our lives and to us being here is a routine. But to those Airmen and Soldiers who come here and see what is to offer, they like what they see and they do something about it.
