– Mid-1980s: The 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron converted from the F-106 to F-15. Squadron deactivated in 1988 and the 18 fighter planes were transferred to Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts.

– 1980s: An auction with proceeds going to special base activities began at the base and then was moved to Minot. Today the auction, presented by the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce EDC, is known as the Prairie Warrior Auction. Betty Fedorchak, Minot, was auction chair for 31 years of the event.

-1988: Minot AFB selected for Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award.

– Feb. 13, 1988: The “1st Annual International Military Ball” was held at Minot’s Sheraton Riverside Inn. Col. John J. Politi, commander of the base’s 91st Strategic Missile Wing, proposed the idea to hold the event based on international friendship and peace. Between 500-600 people, including Minot and Minot AFB dignitaries and representatives of Canadian forces and other U.S. forces, attended the ball.

MDN File Photo Members of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Minot Air Force Base take part in a deactivation ceremony of the squadron in 1988. The last F-15 fighter plane at the base is in the background.The 18 fighter planes were transferred to Otis National Guard Air Base in Massachusetts.

– April 1988: The new hospital at Minot AFB opened

– October 1989: The Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) was added to 5th Bomb Wing’s arsenal; 1993, bomb wing gets Advanced Cruise Missiles for B-52.

– Early 1990s: Aircraft and personnel deploy for Operation Desert Storm.

– June 1991: 57th Air Division inactivated; 5th Bomb Wing now host base unit.

– September 1991: After 35 years of continuous alert, bomb wing aircraft came off alert status.

MDN File Photo The hospital at Minot Air Force Base was 59% complete when this photo was taken in February 1987. The hospital was opened in April 1988.

– June 1992: New Air Combat Command replaces Strategic Air Command as host command.

– Summer 1993: 91st Missile Wing reassigned to Air Force Space Command.

– Early 1994: Minot AFB receives Air Combat Command Commander’s Community Support Award.

– January 1994: Base loses 906th Air Refueling Squadron, one of base’s oldest units; last KC-135 tanker leaves in April 1994.

– August 1996: Missile wing completes first major upgrade on command, control and communication systems at launch and control centers.

MDN File Photo The last KC-135 leaves Minot Air Force Base in April 1994.

– Oct. 1, 1997: 91st Missile Wing redesignated 91st Space Wing.

– Aug. 12, 1998: A mock or practice Russian inspection took place at Minot AFB as part of Air Combat Command’s preparations for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II.

– Since 9/11 (2001), troops from Minot Air Force Base have been deployed in support of the war on terrorism.

– 2004: B-52 bombers from Minot AFB and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, shared non-stop rotations in support of U.S. Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence mission based at Andersen AFB in Guam beginning in 2004.

– August 2004: Col. Jack Broughton, commander of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, in the early 1960s, and a combat pilot in Korea and Vietnam who was named one of 50 most decorated officers in the United States, was inducted in Minot AFB’s Hall of Fame in 2004. While at Minot AFB he “adopted” two lynx cats, “Spitten ” and “Kitten,” as 5th Fighter mascots. The squadron got a zoo license and numerous cats were born to adult cats. When the squadron deactivated in the late 1980s, two offspring moved to Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, where they lived until their deaths.

Submitted Photo Col. Jack Broughton is shown with Spitten and Kitten, mascots of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Minot Air Force Base. The photo is displayed in the Dakota Territory Air Museum, Minot.

– August 2007: Six advanced cruise missiles with nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded onto a B-52 at Minot AFB and flown to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. The incident received international attention.

– July 2008: The 91st Space Wing was renamed the 91st Missile Wing.

– Oct. 18, 2008: North Dakota Air National Guard’s 219th Security Forces Squadron was activated and became the first Air National Guard security forces unit working in the missile field role with an Air Force base.

– Dec. 1, 2009: The 91st Missile Wing officially transferred from Air Force Space Command to Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), the Air Force’s newest major command to focus on the nation’s nuclear enterprise. Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, a former commander of Minot’s 91st Missile Group/91st Missile Wing, served as first commander of AFGSC.

– Feb. 1, 2010: The 5th Bomb Wing transfers from Air Combat Command to Air Force Global Strike Command.

Eloise Ogden/MDN A crew from Minot Air Force Base’s 23rd Bomb Squadron achieved the historic high flight over the geographical North Pole in a B-52H Stratofortress on Aug. 21, 2011, while en route to the 2011 Moscow International Air and Space Aviation Salon in Russia.

– Summer 2011: Major flooding in the city of Minot impacted nearly 1,200 Minot AFB personnel and family members. The 5th Bomb Wing provided personnel and equipment via the Stafford Act to assist the city in levee construction and evacuation efforts.

– Aug. 21, 2011: A B-52 from the 5th Bomb Wing’s 23rd Bomb Squadron made a historic high flight over the geographic North Pole while en route to the 2011 Moscow International Air and Space Aviation Salon in Russia.

– 2012: A three-phase, $67 million project began to reconstruct the Minot AFB runway. The runway was used for nearly 60 years before the construction project began.

– July 12, 2015: 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking for Minot AFB.

– July 2016: The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), later named LGM-35A Sentinel, was announced, with the U.S. Air Force releasing a request for proposals for the next-generation nuclear ICBM, to replace the Minuteman III. Minot AFB, Malmstrom AFB in Montana, and F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming are the three ICBM bases to receive the new weapon system.

– Sept. 27, 2016: “Ghost Rider,” the first B-52 (tail number 1007) to be removed from long-term storage (the Boneyard) with the 309th Aerospace and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, was restored and returned to flying operations at Minot AFB. where the plane had been assigned earlier.

– October 2019: Capt. Ben Shea, a 91st Operations Support Squadron Minuteman III combat crew command at Minot AFB, became the first reserve airman in the 60-year history of ICBMs in the Air Force to complete a 24-hour “alert” at missile alert facility near Max.

– November 2019: The Minot community was recognized for its support to the Air Force Global Strike Command wings at Minot AFB with its award of the Barksdale Trophy. The trophy is awarded by the communities of Shreveport and Bossier, Louisiana, home of Air Force Global Strike Command and Barksdale AFB.

– Sept. 21, 2020: As a result of exceptional service and outstanding performance, the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing were announced as two of five winners of the 2019 Omaha Trophy.

– April 16, 2020: The Air Force ends the U.S. Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence based at Andersen AFB in Guam with the 69th Bomb Squadron from Minot AFB being the last B-52 unit to Guam.

– November 2023: Minot received the Barksdale Trophy for its most outstanding community support to the Air Force Global Strike Command wings at Minot AFB. This was the fourth time the trophy was handed out since it was created in 2017. Minot previously received it in 2019.

– Aug. 15, 2023: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new facility for the 54th Helicopter Squadron, which will house the new MH-139A Grey Wolf. The Grey Wolf will replace the 54th Helicopter Squadrons’ UH-1N Huey that has been in use since 1996.

– Jan. 9, 2024: Memorial Middle School and Dakota and North Plains elementary schools at Minot Air Force Base were presented the Purple Star Award by State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler. The award has been given to military schools across the nation for 10 years but is new to North Dakota. The award is given to schools that support military-connected students.

– March 2025: U.S. Strategic Command announces the 91st Missile Wing is one of three winners (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile – ICBM – category) of the Strategic Command Consultation Committee’s 2024 Omaha Trophy.

– April 2025: Minot was recognized as a 2025 Great American Defense Community.

– March 2025: Minot AFB B-52s and personnel returned to Minot base after completing Bomber Task Force 25-2 deployment based in the United Kingdom. The deployment included 13 operational missions with more than 20 Allies and partners.

– June 14, 2025: Minot AFB to hold open house, the first open house since 2018.

– July 12, 2025: 70th anniversary of groundbreaking for Minot Air Force Base.

Eloise Ogden/MDN A worker works on the project to replace the middle section of the runway at Minot Air Force Base, shown July 9, 2014. The west and east ends were completed in the previous two years. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new runway was held in September 2014.

Submitted Photo Capt. Ben Shea, a reserve airman, completed a 24-hour “alert” at a missile alert facility near Max in October 2019, making U.S. Air Force history.

Eloise Ogden/MDN The Minot community received the Barksdale Trophy in November 2019 for its support to Air Force Global Strike Command wings at Minot Air Force Base. From the left: Mark Jantzer, John MacMartin, Brekka Kramer and Randy Burckhard are shown with the trophy after they unveiled it at the Minot Area Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee meeting in February 2020.

Submitted Photo Civic leaders, government officials and senior leaders break ground at the groundbreaking ceremony for the 54th Helicopter Squadron’s new facility Aug. 15, 2023, at Minot Air Force Base. The new facility will house the incoming MH-139A Grey Wolf which will replace the UH-1N Iroquois. Minot Air Force Base photo.

MDN File Photo Participating in a Purple Star Award ceremony on Jan. 9, 2024, are, from left, Col. George Chapman, deputy commander of the 91st Missile Wing; Col. Benjamin Jensen, deputy commander of the 5th Bomb Wing; Joy-Hope Smith, school liaison program manager for Memorial Middle School; Steven Young, principal of Memorial Middle School; Kirsten Baesler, State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Mark Vollmer; Minot Public Schools superintendent. They are surrounded by students at Memorial Middle School. Memorial and two other Minot Air Force Base schools received Purple Star Awards.

A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress from the 60th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron fly’s over the skies of Sweden for their celebration of their acceptance into NATO during Bomber Task Force 25-2, RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, March 11, 2025. These operations demonstrate the ability to rapidly deploy strategic assets in support of global stability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Chris Hibben)

Submitted Photo Minot was recognized as a 2025 Great American Defense Community. From the left are Minot Area Chamber EDC President/CEO Brekka Kramer; Task Force 21 Chair Pete Hankla; 2025 MACEDC Board Chair Ryan Ackerman and Task Force 21 Member Cassidy Hjelmstad in Washington, D.C. Photo from MACEDC.