Chapter 7 Verendrye powers national defense A plaque is unveiled on Oct. 24, 2013 to commemorate a B-52 Stratofortress model placed on the Minot Air Force Base. From left are Col. Alex Mezynski, commander of the Minot Air Force Base, Scot Oathout, Boeing B-52 and Legacy Tanker Program Manager, and Verendrye Manager Bruce Carlson, who is also chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. Another similar model is also on display at the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot. y the early 1950s, members of Verendrye “We feel very fortunate in securing a contract Electric Cooperative had proven that a such as this for it will change the financial picture Bgroup of farmers could build a successful for the future. Currently the Air Force is asking for electric cooperative from scratch. But in 1955, the 2,000 kilowatts, a demand which is comparable to cooperative would face a new test of its abilities about one-sixth of the electricity used in the city of – a test that to this day has proven to be one of its Minot.”1 Today the base is Verendrye’s single largest greatest achievements, resulting in a decades-long user of electricity, comprising nearly 20 percent of partnership to electrify one of the most powerful its kilowatt-hour sales. places on Earth. Verendrye’s partnership with the Air Force In the July 1955 issue of North Dakota REC/ actually began in June 1951, when it energized RTC, Line Superintendent Ruben Haga announced a radar base south of Minot. That base was the cooperative signed a contract to power the Minot decommissioned decades ago, and now contains a Air Force Base. Haga described it as a “huge jet number of privately owned homes. air base.” 1 Ruben Haga, “Line Superintendent’s notes,” North Dakota REC/ RTC, Verendrye Electric News, July 1955, 10. Celebrating 75 Years of Verendrye Electric Cooperative | 58 START OF MINOT AIR FORCE BASE After World War II ended in 1945, the Soviet Union emerged as a new threat to the United States. Because of the Cold War, the U.S. began to look for possible sites for military bases in northern states. By 1955, Minot businessmen and citizens donated approximately $50,000 to buy the first portions of land for the base north of Minot. The groundbreaking took place July 12, 1955, and construction started shortly after that. The base started out as an Air Defense Command Base and the first unit was the 32nd Fighter Group, activated on Feb. 8, 1957. The Air Force took up occupancy eight days later on Feb. 15.2 The first mission of the base was to send jets to shoot down enemy bombers. 2 Minot Air Force Base, “Minot Air Force Base History,” http://www.minot. af.mil/library/history.asp (accessed on August 28, 2013). An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is launched at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Air Force periodically removes a missile from a silo in North Dakota and test launches it in California. 1st Lt. Jeremy King (left) and 2nd Lt. Glen Jasper (right), both from the 740th Missile Squadron, simulate launching a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at the missile procedure trainer at the Minot Air Force Base. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Matthew Smith. 59 | Building a dream together Pictured here is the Minot AFB Main Gate in 1965. For decades, visitors to the base have been greeted with the words “Only the Best Come North.” U.S. Air Force photo. Throughout the years, the base has been home to a variety of aircraft, and in July 1961 the first B-52H Stratofortress, named “Peace Persuader,” was stationed there. Today the base is only one of two bases with B-52s; the other being Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. In 1962, the base began constructing underground silos to house Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), with the first missile arriving on Sept. 9, 1963, and the missiles being ready for combat by April 1964. The missiles were eventually upgraded to Minuteman III ICBMs and the base currently controls 150 of them. The only other bases that control Minutemans are F.E. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyo., and Malmstrom in Great Falls, Mont. Celebrating 75 Years of Verendrye Electric Cooperative | 60 TODAY’S MISSION BUILDING THE ELECTRICAL Today, the Minot Air Force Base remains a SYSTEM critical part of our country’s national defense and is Verendrye initially had to build 20 miles of the only base with two of the three components of power lines to bring power to the base, and upgrade the nuclear triad: bombers and missiles. The third several miles of power lines from single-phase to leg of the triad is nuclear submarines. three-phase power. While these upgrades were “It is very important that Minot Air Force Base essential for the new base, the improvements also with its dual nuclear mission of B-52s and missiles helped other members by providing a more robust remain a vital, robust, well-funded, well-supported distribution system. part of our military now and for generations to In November 1961, Harlan Hanson, the come,” Sen. John Hoeven said in August 2013 at a Verendrye engineer at the time, announced ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new $16 million air Verendrye was awarded bids to serve 44 missile traffic control tower and base operations facility. sites. Hanson said bringing lines to the sites would Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, speaking at the same be challenging because each one would require event, described the base as the “second most three-phase service. Each site would use enough powerful on Earth” and urged continuing support of electricity to power 30 farms. Crews had to convert Minot AFB. 184 miles of line to three-phase service and build an additional 29 miles of line. Lineworker Burton Atkinson carries a large light bulb that was installed in the light fixtures towering above the B-52 flightline on the Minot Air Force Base. Verendrye has served the base since the 1950s and was awarded a 50-year contract in 2011 to own and maintain the electrical distribution facilities. 61 | Building a dream together This 1960s era photo shows the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at the Minot Air Force Base. The base’s original mission was to provide jets that could knock down enemy bombers that might fly into the U.S. from Russia. The base is now home to B-52 bombers and Minuteman III missiles. Photo courtesy of the Minot Air Force Base. The short timeline for construction was also a and operate electrical distribution infrastructure. challenge to Verendrye. “The completion dates, as This arrangement helps all Verendrye members set forth in our contract with the Air Force, are very because of additional revenue and the availability of rigid. They did not give us any time to loiter along more resources. Three full-time lineworkers, who the way,” Hanson wrote in March 1962. work on the base, can be called on to help in other Because of the large footprint required for areas during outages if needed. The contract meant 150 missiles, the missile field is also powered by that Verendrye had to construct a 4,000-square-foot Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative, North facility on the base for its workers and equipment. Central Electric Cooperative, Burke-Divide Electric “We’re extremely proud of the relationship Cooperative and McLean Electric Cooperative. we have with the Air Force Base,” said Verendrye Although Verendrye has served the base since Manager Bruce Carlson. “The relationship was it was built, it did not always own and maintain beneficial when the base was built and it remains a the facilities there. In 2011, the cooperative was vital part of our cooperative today.” awarded a 50-year contract to purchase, maintain Verendrye has taken steps to ensure the Celebrating 75 Years of Verendrye Electric Cooperative | 62 Workers construct a missile site in this photo. Construction on the missile sites began in 1962 and the missiles were combat ready by 1964. Verendrye provides power to 44 of the 150 sites. The missile field is also powered by Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative, North Central Electric Cooperative, Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative and McLean Electric Cooperative. lights stay on for national defense. John Westby, IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY Verendrye’s operations engineer, said Verendrye has The base is crucial to North Dakota’s economy, built the distribution system in a way that allows with an economic impact of $584 million in 2013. the base to be served from multiple sources. “We The base has more than 1,700 housing units for have three sources of power and each one could members of the military and has a population of run the entire base. There is triple redundancy,” around 12,807, which includes 5,569 military Westby said. members, 6,053 family members and 1,185 civilians. Verendrye also utilizes Supervisory Control and About 50 percent of the population lives off base. Data Acquisition (SCADA), which alerts employees The Air Force has also proven its commitment to potential problems in substations. “If something to the community through the years, not only goes wrong with a substation, we are going to see an through its economic impact, but in other ways. In alarm go off in our Velva office,” Westby said. 2011, the base showed its commitment to the area by providing troops to help fight the historic Souris River flood. 63 | Building a dream together Workers build a substation for the Air Force Base in this undated photo. Verendrye has powered the base since it opened in 1955.