Task Force 21 is a group of volunteers whose main goal is to advocate and support the missions of Minot Air Force Base. Some of the members of this year’s task force can well remember Task Force ’96, a group organized to guide Minot through the Base Realignment and Closure rounds that occurred in the late 1990’s. The group was laser focused on retaining both wings at the Minot Air Force Base, the 5th Bomb Wing and the 91st Missile Wing.

Although today’s TF21 serves in a much different capacity as the group works to educate, advocate and engage on a local, statewide and national level. Today’s North Dakota Nuclear Triad Symposium is much like the Nuclear Symposiums sponsored by TF21 and held in Washington, D.C.

“You know this all started back in the BRAC days” according to Bruce Christianson, one of the members who was integral in Task Force ’96 and has transitioned to Task Force 21. “The threat to our base was very real.”
Although the Washington D.C. Task Force 21 Nuclear Triad Symposium is held annually, the ND Symposium, which started in 2024, has been a semi-annual event.

Col. Ty Cisneros
Col Cisneros is the Chief, Command and Control Division, A10 ICBM Modernization, Air Force Global Strike Command and he lead off the guest speaker agenda. Col Cisneros stressed that “the system that guaranteed our security today, is not the system we need to guarantee our security tomorrow. Therefore, we have a profound responsibility to Global Strike, to the nation and our kids and your kids to secure a new weapons system. Our greatest weapons system is our Airmen. The maintainers who are out in the field, the security forces who protect our assets and it’s the operators keeping the system online and ready to go. We cannot afford to run with the old system, and that is why we need to modernize the main leg of the triad. It’s not an option it’s a nuclear triad fundamental necessity. We cannot rely on a 60-year-old system indefinitely to counter tomorrow’s threats.”
Col Cisneros described Sentinel as a whole new weapons system from the ground up that secures not only our nation but provide security for U.S. allies going forward. The target date for construction to begin is 2027 with the project taking 3-5 years to complete. “We made the decision to build new launch silos.” according to Cisneros. In 2027 Minot will start construction on a consolidated vehicle maintenance complex, as well as a security forces operation complex.
Cisneros talked about keeping the public informed going forward “with events like townhalls that we mentioned before. The Sentinel Missile System will be the largest infrastructure system in history. Not just Air Force history, but the United States overall.”

John A Hill
Mr. Hill is Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command. “My job is to tell (Global Strike Command) what is going on in the world” according to Hill “what is going on today? So, I go to the internet to figure that out.” Hill pointed out that there have been 25-30,000 Chinese who are 18-20 years old that came across the U.S. borders illegally. “An example” says Hill “is that we had a young fellow approach the gate two days in a row at F.E. Warren. He changed his story the 2nd day.”
Another incident that Hill used as an example is that there is a train that goes through F.E. Warren every day. One of the cars on the train is sourced to China, the other says COSCO. “So, what is COSCO? It’s China Ocean Shipping Company” said Hill, “and on the other side of that train?” asks Hill, “down in the valley on the other side of that train is the new Sentinel building.”
Hill then did a comparison between Russia as an adversary ad China as an adversary. “Russia can’t do anything without oil, and Russia can make money selling oil at $65.00 per barrel, and Putin can fund the war effort at $65.00 per barrel. Today Brent crude is around $112.00 per barrel, so yes, plenty of money to fund his (Putin’s) war effort.”
Hill then gave some interesting information about the Chinese intrusion into the motion picture industry, because companies like Warner Brothers and Paramount want to market into China. Movies like Barbie, and an attempt at Top Gun Maverick. And where Russia may even communicate their intensions, China does not.

Dr. Rebeccah Heinrichs
Dr. Rebeccah Heinrichs is a Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director. Navy Admiral Samuael Paparo in recent testimony according to Heinrichs “says he wants more bombers. He says the best and highest need for him, and across the joint forces is deterrence. Deterrence is our highest need. He wants to double the amount of B21 bombers.
Dr. Heinrichs goes on to point out that we are really in a state of a Cold War environment. “What is the nation’s highest priority? It is deterring major power conflict” according to Heinrichs “and what is certainly fundamental to that deterrence is our nuclear triad. And every conflict in areas away from our shores will ride on our nuclear deterrence holding.”
Dr. Heinrichs says there is bipartisan support for:
The United States of America maintaining our nuclear triad.
We must finish the modernization of the program of record, but the program of record was started in 2009.
We must finish our modernization project and make it the priority of the nation. We must adapt it.
What is deterrence? “Deterrence” according to Dr. Heinrichs “is the act of convincing your adversaries that whatever they may be considering against our interests will result in us acting against them. Deterrence is not a bluff.

Gen. S.L. Davis
Gen. S.L. Davis, Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command and Commander, Air Forces Strategic-Air, U.S. Strategic Command, Barksdale Air Force Base.
Gen. Davis was the commander of the 91st MW during the years of the 2011 flood.
“Nobody is able to talk about the MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter that will be starting to be deployed to Minot in 2027” said Gen Davis.
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Global Strike Command bases have the best support from local communities” according to Gen. Davis. “Task Force 21’s mission is to support the Triad, and it has and they are making a difference. Today they continue their mission of excellence, advocacy & support.” Gen Davis goes on to echo the importance of maintain an effective nuclear deterrence, including the modernization of the U.S. Air Force’s bomber inventory. Gen Davis noted that this year marks the 17th Anniversary of Global Strike Command.
“Today we have 23 bombers in the UK, the most bombers we have had there since World War II, along with a thousand Airmen providing support for those bombers” according to Davis “160 missions were flow. Along with that we maintain an ICBM force as they have always done for the last 63 years. The operate and maintain a Minuteman force at an unbelievably high rate of readiness, approaching 100%.”
Gen Davis continued to support the message of the importance of community support for the Airmen and their families. “We can’t thank you enough.”