{"id":2068,"date":"2009-07-20T23:02:02","date_gmt":"2009-07-21T04:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/65.175.102.14\/?p=2068"},"modified":"2013-06-14T16:03:26","modified_gmt":"2013-06-14T21:03:26","slug":"minot-air-force-base-hosts-northern-neighbors-day-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/?p=2068","title":{"rendered":"Minot Air Force Base hosts Northern Neighbors Day 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><center><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43620.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Minot Air Force Base&#8217;s &#8220;Northern Neighbors Day&#8221; this weekend. I believe this show runs every two years, but it&#8217;s been a while since I&#8217;ve been able to make it to one. I have been looking forward to this day for two years, and I was not disappointed. Boy, did I take a lot of pictures. Here are a few&#8230;and there&#8217;s a link to a gallery of more at the bottom of this post.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43526.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"203\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Starting with the star of the show, the B-52 Stratofortress.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43509.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Check out the riflings on the barrel of this A-10&#8217;s 30mm gun! That&#8217;ll get those depleted uranium shells spinning.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44108.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Of course, there were plenty of aerobatic demonstrations.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44030.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>How&#8217;s that for a ribbon cutting ceremony?<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43629.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Various planes and helicopters were available for people to inspect, including a peek into the cockpits of some such as the F-15 and F-16. Pilots were on hand to chat.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43579.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Don&#8217;t get any funny adventurous ideas. You&#8217;re still on a nuclear weapon facility. I need one of these for my property, at least the last line anyway.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44682.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Yes, attractive women DO fly deadly planes.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43525.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;d have even more photo opportunities if my truck did this.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43521.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>If I couldn&#8217;t attach these to my motorcycle, I bet I could make a monster go-kart with them!<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43605.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>The Barack Obama fighter. Hope\u2122! Change\u2122!<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43709.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>As some of the Army&#8217;s &#8220;Golden Knights&#8221; parachute team spiral toward us, the Pietsch brothers circle in their stunt planes.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43745.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"166\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>These jets can fire up at a moment&#8217;s notice. They have explosive charges on the engines that can be detonated to spin the turbines up instantly, negating the use of an APU. They can be airborne and ready to go make some mayhem in a matter of minutes. We got a demo.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44803.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Something you don&#8217;t see every day: an F-16 Fighting Falcon alongside a P-38 Lightning!<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44281.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Something else you don&#8217;t see every day: a B-52 Stratofortress next to a B-25 Mitchell!<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44370.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>This was my first experience with the B2 Spirit stealth bomber. I came away from it very pleased. All radar invisibility aside, the thing is just darn near impossible to see or hear when it&#8217;s coming or going! Only when it flies by is it detectable, and then it&#8217;s too late. It&#8217;s quite BIG, too.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44634.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>U2 flyby. No, not Bono&#8230;he only THINKS he can fly. I was stunned at just how loud this aircraft is, and it was a real hoot to see it peel off and head to 60,000 feet. I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;ve ever let on how high it can REALLY go. Space, pretty much.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43575.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"249\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Uniform-01, the missile training facility. It&#8217;s an exact replica of a Minuteman III silo and launch facility. Through a stroke of luck my friend Jerry and I got a personalized tour of this thing, with the better part of an hour to just have the instructor to ourselves and ask questions. This alone made the trip worthwhile. No, I was NOT allowed to take my camera with me when we went down the hole.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_44305.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Beauty.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bismarck-mandan.com\/images\/mafb_nnd_43619.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" border=\"0\" \/><\/center>Amen, brutha. I know the pusillanimous, sissified PC crowd thinks that this statement is imperialist and overbearing&#8230;but it&#8217;s not. America has been the greatest stabilizing force in the world. It&#8217;s because of the folks serving here at Minot Air Force Base, and all over the world, that we enjoy peace. If there&#8217;s a war, they win it for us. If there&#8217;s peace, it&#8217;s because people are afraid to mess with them. They stand by our allies and defend our nation and its friends.<\/center><br \/>\nWant more pics? I took a TON of them. These were just some of my favorites. I took the opportunity to make an online gallery of the ones I like the best. You can find it by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/galleries\/mafb_nnday_2009\" target=\"_blank\">clicking here<\/a>. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to the friendly (and I do mean FRIENDLY) folks at the Minot Air Force Base for all that they do and all their hard work and hospitality in making this Northern Neighbors Day one that I&#8217;ll remember for the rest of my life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Minot Air Force Base&#8217;s &#8220;Northern Neighbors Day&#8221; this weekend. I believe this show runs every two years, but it&#8217;s been a while since I&#8217;ve been able to make it to one. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/?p=2068\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,19,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-military","category-vehicles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2068"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2069,"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068\/revisions\/2069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}