When word broke over the weekend that ISIS was trying to hit America at its core – by targeting our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines – it hit real close to home.

Included on the ISIS “hit list” of 100 service members were six airmen stationed at Minot Air Force Base. The reason these six were included has not been fully explained, but from our view, when any of the thousands of airmen working on Minot Air Force Base are threatened, they threaten all of us.

Minot Air Force Base is technically 16 miles north of Minot, but for decades the air base has been a key part of what we are in Minot. We are proud of the work being done on the base, we are proud of the airmen who temporarily call our community home. We are happy many of the airmen live as our neighbors and become our friends.

When you threaten anyone at our air base, you threaten all of us. These aren’t anonymous names and faces here in Minot. They are part of us, and we will stand together.

As the federal government works to ensure its service members are safe, we stand as a community determined to help do the same.

The Minot Police Department sent out a statement late Monday promising to work with other agencies and Minot Air Force Base to ensure all the airmen in Minot are safe. The police also asked the community to keep its eyes open and to report any suspicious activity as soon as it is seen.

So as we move forward, confident in our federal and local law enforcement, that is what we will do. We won’t overreact, but we will be on the watch. With all of us paying attention, all our airmen will be safe and sound in the community we share.