Task Force 21 Gets Many Accolades

Author’s Note
As a reporter for the Northern Sentry, I have had many opportunities to interview a number of high-ranking Air Force officials. If these officials have ties to Minot Air Force Base, they speak highly of Minot’s Task Force 21 and the work it does advocating and educating for Minot Air Force Base, its missions, and the strategic importance Minot AFB has to the Air Force and the United States’ defensive posture.

That praise has been especially clear in conversations with leaders such as Lt. Gen. Michael Lutton, now Deputy Commander of United States Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It is also common to interview officials who know of Minot AFB and refer to the strong group of civic leaders advocating for the base. They may not always identify the group by name, but they consistently speak positively about Task Force 21 and the civic leaders who formed and continue to support its mission.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Minot Chamber EDC CEO and member of the U.S. Air and Space Force Civic Leader Program, Brekka Kramer, and Chairman of Task Force 21, Peter Hankla. We discussed what Task Force 21 and Minot Air Force Base mean to Minot and to North Dakota.

Changing With the Times
Task Force 21 is part of the Minot Area Chamber EDC, and its role continues to matter because Minot Air Force Base remains central to the region and to the nation’s defense posture. The group brings together civic leaders who advocate for the base, educate others about its missions, and help maintain strong connections between the community and military leadership.

Who Serves and Why
One position on Task Force 21 is automatically assigned to the Minot Chamber EDC chairman, currently Jarid Lundeen, for a one-year term. Other members bring a range of experience, including Mayor Mark Jantzer, who served as chairman of Task Force 21 for a number of years.

Several members also have ties to the group’s earliest days, when TF 21 was formed as Task Force 96. That earlier group worked diligently to ensure that Minot AFB retained not only the base, but also its two meaningful missions: the Minuteman III missiles and the B-52s. Members with long-standing connections include Jantzer, Bruce Christianson, Randy Burckhard, and current Chairman Peter Hankla, who said, “I started on Task Force 21 in 1999.”

Other members who have gained valuable experience with TF 21 include Vice Chairman Jason Zimmerman, along with tenured members Jessica Klein and Jonn Knecht.

Two Minot Chamber EDC staff members also serve with Task Force 21. Kramer, as CEO and president, is part of the group and has been a member since 2012. Keli Roselli-Sullivan, the chamber’s military liaison, serves in a support role.

Hankla said the group recently added two new members: Cassidy Hjelmstad and Ryan Ackerman. “We’re excited about bringing in younger people because we feel it is key that we have members of Task Force 21 who are similar in age to our base commanders,” he said.

Kramer added that serving as chairman of the Minot ChamberEDC Board gives leaders direct insight into what Task Force 21 does and what it accomplishes. “A lot of us served as Chairman of the Chamber Board, and then we were asked to become a part of Task Force 21,” she said.

Hankla said that interest from chamber board chairs is one of the ways new members become involved. “Some board chairs are really interested in the goals of Task Force 21, and they want to be part of what we do,” he said. “They express an interest, and that is key to how we get new people on Task Force 21.”

There are currently 11 members on Task Force 21, and both Kramer and Hankla believe the group’s size and structure are a good fit for what TF 21 needs to accomplish now. As Minot AFB prepares for modernization of both the missile and bomber missions, TF 21 will continue supporting both the community of Minot and the base. “We are pretty sure that we have the right amount of members today, but who knows what will happen in 5, 10, or even 15 years down the road,” Hankla said. “The modernization is going to last a decade.” Kramer said new members such as Cassidy and Ryan bring valuable experience to the table. “Ryan has the engineering experience, and Cassidy brings her experience with broadband and understanding landowner negotiations,” she said. “The knowledge they bring is really a nice addition to Task Force.”

Strategically Set To Address The Challenges
Task Force 21 is a task force of combined expertise, but it also has defined positions. “I serve as the U.S. Air & Space Forces civic leader under Secretary Meink,” Kramer said. Mark Jantzer is also an emeritus member of that group. “There are four of us who have been asked by Global Strike Command to serve as civic leaders: Pete Hankla, Jason Zimmerman, Bruce Christianson, and myself,” Kramer said. Mayor Jantzer and Randy Burckhard are emeritus members after stepping down to open spots on the Global Strike Civic Leaders group. Hankla and Kramer also serve on the North Dakota Military Commission, which works on military issues across the state. Governor Armstrong has said several times that he wants to make North Dakota the most military-friendly state in the nation.

Several other members of Task Force 21 serve on additional boards. “We’re trying to delegate responsibility to the entire Task Force group instead of it falling on just a few members,” Kramer said.

Task Force 21 Looks Ahead
That structure and range of experience will matter even more as Minot AFB enters a decade of modernization affecting both the missile and bomber missions.

With what has been described as the largest single project ever placed on the table by the Department of War, Sentinel is looming in the not-too-distant future. Task Force 21 is closely following the modernization and deployment of the Sentinel missile at F.E. Warren and Malmstrom. Although Minot may be the last of the three bases to deploy Sentinel, there is still an expectation that the Minuteman III missiles in Minot will remain a nuclear deterrent until Sentinel goes live systemwide.

The Gold Standard
Task Force 21 is recognized as the “Gold Standard” among groups that work with their bases and communities to advocate for military missions. “We also know that people look at us,” Hankla said, “and want us to help them create and maintain a group similar to Task Force 21.”

But the members of Task Force 21 are not “in it” for the accolades. They accept a position knowing it often means long hours beyond their normal work responsibilities. That is what it takes to be recognized as the best of the best.