I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I roomed with the crew chief who helped put 010 back together again, Dan Ringo. Good guy, dedicated to getting that jet back in the sky where it belonged!

I had the pleasure of sitting Alert from the end of August, 1970 to the middle of November, 1970. I got along great with the other guys there with me which made the time pass fairly quickly. One thing I noticed about North Dakota is that there were "seasons" for all manner of critters. September was warm during the day but chilly at night. When we went out to check the birds and to run the Hi-Pac's to get the pressure before hitting the sack, there were many large frogs that crawled under the door to get inside to stay warm. I don't know where they all came from because we never saw one during the day. We never even heard one. There were also a few weasels that found their way into the pod somehow. We were careful not to get too close or to agitate them. One guy was playing with one while he had leather gloves on. He thought he was safe. He found out the teeth were like needles because he got it mad and it turned and bit him in the finger and ran off. We don't thing it was rabid, but the poor guy had to go through the series of painful shots just in case. He never did that again but he had to listen to our jokes about it.
The two pods closest to the quarters in the middle were for the 5-minute alert birds, while the two farthest were 15-minute alerts. This picture brings back a lot of good memories. I was only at Minot for 16 months before I left for SEA and F-4's. I never saw a 106 again. Yes the winters could be harsh but we were given all the cold-weather gear we needed and we used most of it. As crew chiefs,we couldn't really use the large mittens that went half way up the arm, but the mul-luk's were worn almost daily. It was good duty and some good experiences. It was all part of being in the Air Force.

I had the pleasure of sitting Alert from the end of August, 1970 to the middle of November, 1970. I got along great with the other guys there with me which made the time pass fairly quickly. One thing I noticed about North Dakota is that there were "seasons" for all manner of critters. September was warm during the day but chilly at night. When we went out to check the birds and to run the Hi-Pac's to get the pressure before hitting the sack, there were many large frogs that crawled under the door to get inside to stay warm. I don't know where they all came from because we never saw one during the day. We never even heard one. There were also a few weasels that found their way into the pod somehow. We were careful not to get too close or to agitate them. One guy was playing with one while he had leather gloves on. He thought he was safe. He found out the teeth were like needles because he got it mad and it turned and bit him in the finger and ran off. We don't thing it was rabid, but the poor guy had to go through the series of painful shots just in case. He never did that again but he had to listen to our jokes about it.
The two pods closest to the quarters in the middle were for the 5-minute alert birds, while the two farthest were 15-minute alerts. This picture brings back a lot of good memories. I was only at Minot for 16 months before I left for SEA and F-4's. I never saw a 106 again. Yes the winters could be harsh but we were given all the cold-weather gear we needed and we used most of it. As crew chiefs,we couldn't really use the large mittens that went half way up the arm, but the mul-luk's were worn almost daily. It was good duty and some good experiences. It was all part of being in the Air Force.