The Future of Minot AFB | Video

Amy Fox | 2/6/2013

Minot Air Force Base is home to 6,000 active duty airmen and civilians. But, is the base equipped to handle the growing population? KMOT sat down with the new commander of the 5th Bomb Wing to discuss his future plans for the base.

In January, Colonel Alexis Mezynski took over as the commander of the 5th Bomb Wing. And, after settling in, he`s ready to get to work.

"One of the challenges we have here at Minot is the infrastructure,” explains Col. Mezynski. “The base was built back in the 1950s, so we`re looking for ways to renovate them and modernize them for the lowest cost possible, but bring them up to conditions that are workable. Our airmen should be able to work in an environment that is safe and one which they are able to get the mission done in the shortest amount of time. You know, there are going to be changes. It`s the one constant thing in the Air Force is change. We`re going to have new challenges that we have to deal with and we`re always going to attempt to find innovative ways to do our job better, especially in an environment that is probably going to become fiscally constrained."

Col. Mezynski meets with airmen and officials on base regularly to discuss changes and renovations. But, it`s an ongoing process.

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