MINOT AIR FORCE BASE Minot Air Force Base is the largest military installation in North Dakota and it's growing.
The Minot base also has the notoriety of being one of the largest in population of the northern tier bases.
Northern tier is a term still in use that originally referred to bases that were in the heart of the nation's nuclear structure in the middle of the 20th Century F.E. Warren, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., Ellsworth AFB, S.D., Minot AFB and Grand Forks AFB.
As of Sept. 30, 2009, reported in its economic impact report, the Minot base had a total population of 11,878 4,871 active-duty members, 5,609 dependents of active-duty members and 1,398 civilian employees. The most recent economic impact report was released in February.
In the 2008 economic impact report the base had a population of 10,885.
The Minot base, the U.S. Department of Defense's only dual-nuclear wing base, has the 5th Bomb Wing with its B-52 bombers and the 91st Missile Wing with its 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Minot base's current population continues to increase with more people coming in this year for the 69th Bomb Squadron, the second squadron of B-52s which was activated at the base Sept. 3, 2009.
Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in a report last month at an Air Force Association symposium in Florida that 800 people will be added to the base for the new squadron. Both the Minot missile and bomb wings are units of the command.
Grand Forks AFB, as of October 2009, has a total base population of 4,230 people, according to the Grand Forks AFB Public Affairs Office.
That number includes 1,700 active-duty members plus family members and civilian employees.
All of the Grand Forks base's KC-135 Stratotankers will be leaving the base this year, a mission the base has had for a number of years. However, the base is gearing up for its Unmanned Aerial Systems mission, a base spokesman said.
The UAS, better known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, are part of a realignment that took place a few years ago. Currently, the UAVs housed at the Grand Forks base are for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Populations of other nearby bases in the northern tier are as follows:
F.E. Warren AFB at Cheyenne, Wyo., has a population of 4,224 people, its Public Affairs Office said. That number includes 586 officers, 2,550 enlisted members and 1,088 civilians. The numbers do not include dependents of active-duty military members. The base is home to the 90th Missile Wing. Twentieth Air Force, a numbered Air Force for Air Force Global Strike Command, also has its headquarters there.
Ellsworth AFB at Rapid City, S.D., has a current population of 8,441 people. The number includes 3,144 military members, 4,276 dependents of active-duty members, and 1,021 civilian employees, according to Ellsworth AFB Public Affairs.
Ellsworth is home of the 28th Bomb Wing and the B-1B Lancer aircraft.
Malmstrom AFB at Great Falls, Mont., has a current total population of 7,239. That number includes 3,382 active-duty members, 3,250 family members and 607 civilian employees, according to Malmstrom AFB Public Affairs. There also are 751 contractors
Malmstrom is home of the 341st Missile Wing.
Mountain Home AFB in Idaho is in what is called "the Green Belt," which borders the northern tier. That base, home of the 366th Fighter Wing, has a total population of 9,494 of active-duty military and dependents, according to its base Public Affairs office. The number does not include civilian employees.
