“I always knew, logically, how important relationships across our enterprise were, but after three years working for the Department of Energy and now three years back in 20th Air Force, I truly, absolutely appreciate the value of relationships and communicating with each other,” she said.

As the first woman to command the 20th Air Force, Huser oversees the nation’s land-based intercontinental ballistic missile mission and leads more than 12,000 airmen responsible for nuclear global strike and weapons sustainment. She had served as commander of the 91st Operations Group at Minot Air Force Base from August of 2015 until June of 2017.

Huser said the first army to shape her was her large family, which had roots in the Amish church.

Huser, who grew up in a non-Amish home, went on to marry and study psychology and pre-med but didn’t really feel she had a direction for her life. Impressed by a friend who was a missileer in the Air Force, she signed up at the local recruiting office in 1995 and enrolled in officer training school. Her intention was to give it four years.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Minot Area Chamber EDC 2025 board chair Ryan Ackerman, center, holds a recognition award for his service, presented at the organization’s annual meeting by 2026 board chair Jarid Lundeen, left. At right is MACEDC President/CEO Brekka Kramer.

“But four years came and went, and I realized I loved the mission of the Air Force, but I loved the humans who did the work even more,” said Huser, who has been in the Air Force now for 30 years.

“But what I like to remind people is I didn’t join the Air Force for some patriotic reason. I joined it for a paycheck, and a lot of our airmen are the same way,” she said. “They didn’t necessarily join for patriotic reasons, but they stayed because they love the mission that we do and they love the humans that they get to work with.”

Huser said not all airmen are as lucky as she has been to have the support systems she has had.

“And so, we depend on each other, and we depend on all of you to be that support system that our airmen need,” she told MACEDC members.

Her second army is her Air Force family, said Huser, recalling the premature birth of her daughter.

“The people that I worked with in the Air Force were so incredible and were there for me and helped me and my husband in ways that I will never be able to thank them enough. We would not have been able to survive that experience if it hadn’t been for them.”

Her third army has been the sisterhood and brotherhood of the military, Huser said. She broke trail as the first or only woman on many occasions in the Air Force, she said, and over time, it bothered her that it kept happening.

“There should have been hundreds that came before me, and I shouldn’t be the only. I should be surrounded by women. And so, I started doing things to see how I could bring women into our career field, or better yet, how I could just keep the ones that are already here,” she said.

While serving at Minot Air Force Base, she realized there were enough female missileers to pull an all-women’s alert. The idea drew push back from objectors who decried women’s preference and questioned when the all-male alert would be held.

“Everybody forgot that we did that for decades,” Huser said.

She said she would have dropped the idea in the face of opposition but for four male squadron commanders who worked for her and urged her to do the alert during Women’s History Month. Not only were missileers at Minot involved, but all-women crews were celebrated in missions at other air bases that month.

“My sisters in arms have been there for me. But my brothers in arms have been there for me, too. My brothers in arms have lifted me up. They’ve mentored me. They’ve given me some hard truth,” Huser said. “Find the army of your brothers and sisters. Advocate for them, lift them up and make sure that you speak for those who might not have a voice to speak for themselves.”

She listed her fourth army as enterprise, noting that maintaining uninterrupted deterrence is the most important task of the military, she said.

“All of our stakeholders need to be operating on the same sheet of music, not just repeating but strengthening and amplifying the messages that we’re giving. We need to maintain constant communication and, most importantly, close person ties throughout all these programs. It’s critical to the success,” she said.

Huser said Minot’s relationship with Minot Air Force Base sets an example for the rest of the country.

“They want to be like you because they see you making a difference, not just here locally but across the nation,” she said. “You absolutely make a difference for our airmen and for our nation.”