Archived Thread

NFT: Minot North Dakoa AFB ....

Manny in CA : 2/7/2023 6:08 pm

Way back in January '71, after completed Air Force tech training at Keesler AFB Mississippi, our graduating group were gathered in a conference room to give us orders for our first assignment.

1/3 were sent to Shaw AFB South Carolina; 1/3 to Minot; and the rest to George AFB, here in California.

No exaggeration - the guys who got orders to Minot all CRIED !

This is why - Imagine, night duty, 40 below, working on B-52s on the wide-open flight line !

https://www.minot.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/806521/hard-work-dedication-in-below-zero-temperatures/

And to think... these dudes today are probably working the same B-52s

regulator : 2/7/2023 6:35 pm : link

as your buddies did in 1971!

and now in addition to the cold

Giantsfan79 : 2/7/2023 6:40 pm : link

They've got to watch for Chinese balloons

I get Virginia wanting/needing a West Virginia.

bwitz : 2/7/2023 6:54 pm : link

But the Dakotas still separate? It’s 2023. Time to unite.

Minot

Saratoga : 2/7/2023 7:01 pm : link

I was in from 1974 to 1977 at Travis (N. California) the whole time after basic and then Tech School at Chanute AFB.

The saying was "Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason.

I looked up the wind chill calculator ...

Manny in CA : 2/7/2023 7:45 pm : link

At -40, with wind at 5 mph that's -57 degrees Fahrenheit Wind Cill. I understand they schedule you to be out no more than 2 hours in that hell. I thank the Good Lord for not sending me there.

My son

River Mike : 2/7/2023 9:04 pm : link

Mike Jr. was stationed there and yes, worked on that flight line on those freezing cold winter nights. I drove out to visit him, but that was in the summer and I was amazed at how hot it was. I seem to remember a golf course there that had sand greens, but then, my memory often leaves something to be desired.

literal “son of Sam”

bluefin : 2/7/2023 9:36 pm : link

John Carr, son of Sam Carr, friend and neighbor of Berkowitz, offed himself up there under strange circumstances. Weird connection that probably didn’t get as much attention as it should have.
Link - ( New Window )

I have set foot in Minot, North Dakota.

Del Shofner : 2/7/2023 9:40 pm : link

In college, one summer I worked in Glacier National Park. I flew to Minneapolis and then took the train to East Glacier, Montana. The train stopped in Minot and I quickly disembarked and got back on, just to be able to say someday that I had set foot in North Dakota. This is finally my opportunity!

RE: Minot

mitch300 : 2/7/2023 10:14 pm : link

In comment 16026950 Saratoga said:

Quote:

I was in from 1974 to 1977 at Travis (N. California) the whole time after basic and then Tech School at Chanute AFB.

The saying was "Why not Minot? Freezin's the reason.

I was at Travis 78-82.

76 operational B-52s are 61 years old .....

Manny in CA : 2/7/2023 11:22 pm : link

In 2023 !

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/09/27/the-us-air-force-is-gradually-rebuilding-its-b-52-bombers-from-the-rivets-out/?sh=66d000064a35

my sister-in-law's husband

Alan W : 2/8/2023 8:58 am : link

was stationed there long before I met my wife.

BTW, she's a senior dancer for the GS Warriors now (at 77)

One of my best friends and coworker...

RC in MD : 2/8/2023 2:08 pm : link

was stationed in Minot as his first duty station in the early 2000s. He's now retired and is a federal contractor in MD with me, and he rarely wears a jacket whenever most of us are wearing thick coats. I think his time in Minot did some damage to his senses...at least that's what I always tell him.