The Way It Should Be

An estimated 50-100 people were gathered on the commercial aviation apron at the Minot International Airport, turning their eyes to the sky intermittently, looking to catch a glimpse of a plane carrying members of the recently completed Indo-Pacific Bomber Task Force. Monday’s Welcome Home celebration was certainly not unique, as there have been several Bomber […]

Trouble and Attorneys General

It was a day to remember, no doubt about that, from staring down the barrel of a state trooper’s handgun to having a steak with man destined for prison. Okay. I know. You are wondering what kind of goofy story is this guy writing about. Well, what follows is a real “this happened to me” […]

Welcome to the North Dakota State Fair…

It seems that every year, just before the North Dakota State Fair kicks off, there are construction zones everywhere. In fact, all we have to say is “state fair’s coming to town,” and others know exactly what it means. When I first moved to this area of the state in 2000, it seemed like a […]

A Global Mission: 23rd Bomb Squadron Returns

Lt. Col Ryan Loucks, 23rd Bomb Squadron Commander at Minot Air Force Base, the deployment of a Bomber Task Force is important. “Being in the Indo-Pacific with a Bomber Task Force allows our forces to showcase our ability to deploy anytime, anywhere, in support of the combatant commander’s objectives,” he explained. However, gathered at the […]

Minot Airman recognized as AFGSC NCO of the Year

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. — Humbleness, accountability, empathy, teachability, emotional intelligence. These are the qualities that Tech. Sgt. Jennel Edwards, an evaluator for the 91st Security Forces Group, says an effective noncommissioned officer must possess. Air Force Global Strike Command recently recognized Edwards as the NCO of the Year for 2022. “I’m extremely grateful […]

Operation Bully Stick

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. —On July 10, 2023, the 91st Missile Wing kicked off Operation Bully Stick, which generated the largest missile movement in 10 years. Operation Bully Stick is an operation in which the 91st MW aims to load an intercontinental ballistic missile into a launch facility as safely, efficiently, and quickly as […]

Minot combat crew comm team maintains security during Indo-Pacific deployment

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — Whether training at home or supporting Bomber Task Force operations abroad, Airmen aboard 5th Bomb Wing B-52H Stratofortresses carry sensitive communication codes that are vital to mission accomplishment. This critical communications security, or COMSEC, information is generated, packaged and delivered to aircrews before each flight by the 5th Operations […]

OK, It’s Not Usually This Bad

Canadian Wildfires Make For An Interesting Summer Most of my immediate family are from Canada, more specifically Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Summertime usually meant packing up the family car and heading north for a week-long vacation visiting our Canadian relatives. Summers were a bit cooler, and once in a great while we would run into a […]

Trash Talk

Good idea? Not so sure? Supposed to be. Feel good about it. Don’t want to mess with it? Give it a try. Ahhh. The recycling age has begun in Minot. Yup, some real trash talkin’ has descended upon the city. Those blue top, super-sized recycling carts are the talk of the town. Well, that might […]

Skip the cookie cutter lesson plans

There were some comments regarding the quiz in last week’s article. One person said they didn’t get any of the 10 questions correct. Another said they only answered four correctly with the others just guesses. And that was exactly my point for presenting that quiz last week. A lot of people aren’t going to be […]