Well folks, it took 50 years, but North Dakota now has a three-class high school basketball system. The North Dakota High School Activities Association has now approved the starting a third class next fall. Advocates, mostly from the smaller communities in the state, have fought for this since Class C went away in 1963. But […]

It Started As An IdeaThe Northern Sentry does not have a lot of staff, well four to be exact. Ted Bolton owns the Northern Sentry, I am in Marketing & Sales, Erin Beene is our on base reporter and Nikki Greening is our Creative Director/Graphics. Each week we are tasked with producing a 28 page, […]

Defenders,It does not go unnoticed the amount of effort you all put into making the 91 SFG the greatest in Defender Nation!Chief Broughman and I are beyond proud of all you continue to accomplish. That said, it is truly humbling to watch many of you stand out amongst a team chalked full of superstars! Please […]

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) — The Department of the Air Force 2023 Art Contest opens March 1 and runs through April 30, 2023.For the first time, this year’s contest includes both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of art. The submission window is extended to allow artists time to submit in their age category. Any […]

April is the perfect month to usher in Spring but it is also a great time to “Purple Up” for military connected students! The Month of the Military Child (MOMC) is celebrated in April and is a time to show our support for military connected students across the United States and also abroad. In North […]

Fat Tuesday -Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday and the kickoff of the Lent season- is not widely celebrated in North Dakota. But this year it was embraced in the cutest way possible. On the morning of Tuesday, February 21, a handful of toddlers and preschoolers marched around Building 164 for its first-ever Mardi […]

Winnipeg is a city in Manitoba, Canada and is about four hours away from Minot Air Force Base by car. In this essay, I will discuss why I enjoy Winnipeg. The reasons I enjoy Winnipeg are the yummy foods, Pirates Cove, The Children’s Museum, playing with different people, and The Leaf. In Winnipeg, I adore […]

North Plains is a great school! It has LOTS of people to play with. Gym is a LOT OF FUN, it is half an hour long! At Music, we make/play songs! At Library, you get 1-3 books, it is SO FUN! At Counselor, we read a book, it is GOOOOOOOOOOD! In Kindergarten, your teacher is […]

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. —It was a winter day like any other at Minot AFB: cold, snowing and rife with ice covering roads and walkways. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicholas Thompson, 5th Security Forces Squadron response team leader, was starting his afternoon shift after a cozy morning at home. ”I got up to […]

Not all of us have lived in a location that we find undesirable. But if you have, you may have borrowed a quote from a song by Mac Davis that talks about “happiness seeing Lubbock in your rear view mirror.” It may be true that heading south because you can’t go north is going toward […]

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, ND —The Airmen who perform the vital mission of ensuring intercontinental ballistic missiles meet operational standards are some of the most skillfully trained and dedicated personnel in the Air Force. Late last year, a crew of these Airmen from the 791st Missile Maintenance Squadron pulled an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM out […]

With double the amount of Wing Commanders on this base compared to most Air Force bases, Minot therefore has two times the chance of seeing those “full bird” Colonels move on to the illustrious rank of General. Over the past decade, MAFB has had several previous wing commanders, either on the 5th Bomb Wing or […]

The energy is in the air. The daylight is making itself known longer and longer. The home stretch is approaching. Feel it. Say it. Winter is coming to a close, well sort of. Even though it is officially winter for another month, and the cold is likely here for months after that, there is a […]

KEY LARGO, FLORIDA — I’ll admit it’s a goofy concept, at least that’s one perfectly acceptable way of looking at it. I’m talking about a North Dakotan going to the Sunshine State and completely covering up in opposition to it. Yup. Goofy. Wait now. If a fair-skinned Norwegian from North Dakota doesn’t cover up in […]

These stories about flying saucers just don’t seem to go away. People continue to talk about seeing them or evidence of them all over North Dakota. Numerous people continue to tell me about their experiences with UFOs. They tell me in confidence because they don’t want to be ridiculed. The thing is, these people, many […]

Soon enough, the 2023 Nuclear Surety Inspection at Minot AFB will be over. We have been hearing about preparation for the Nuclear Surety Inspection in our Military Affairs Committee meetings. From what we hear in those short briefings, a lot of time and effort has gone into getting ready for the NSI, and Team Minot […]

What makes something “The Best”? Is it the service, the attitude, the work ethic? You get to decide! The Northern Sentry is kicking off the brand new Best Of Minot AFB Awards. We want to highlight the places that the Minot AF base community treasures, but we need your input to find out which places […]

Barksdale Air Force Base, La. —The Commander and Command Chief, Air Force Global Strike Command, held two virtual town halls on Jan. 30 with AFGSC leadership teams and Airmen from the nuclear enterprise to discuss concerns from Airmen about the “Malmstrom Initiative Slide Deck.” In that discussion a number of questions were put forth to […]

This is what I like to do when we get a new assignment. I hope it will help some of you plan your next adventure.

For Col. Kenneth McGhee, his assignment to the 91st Missile Wing in Minot was a return to a city and a base that he knew well. He arrived at Minot Air Force Base for the first time in July of 2013 as Operations Officer the 740th Missile Squadron. He later assumed command of the 741st […]