As Air Force general visits Grand Forks Air Force Base, Kevin Cramer sees starry future

Jun. 18—GRAND FORKS — A U.S. Air Force general's visit to Grand Forks Air Force Base is another signal of the "interesting transitions" in store for the air base, according to one U.S. senator.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told the Herald a Monday tour of the air base by Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach is a chance to show off the base and its potential for expanded military operations.

The senator spoke with the Herald before he was set to join Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command, for part of the latter's tour of the base that afternoon.

"We want him to leave here with a complete inventory of what Grand Forks has to offer, what Grand Forks has to improve, and what investments need to be made in the short- and mid- and long-term to make Grand Forks a durable base well into the future," Cramer said.

Wilsbach is set to review operations at the 119th Wing of the North Dakota National Guard in Fargo on Tuesday.

The general also will host a discussion on counter-UAS technology at UND and a roundtable at GrandSky aviation park Tuesday, alongside Cramer and fellow U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Cramer said the Grand Forks tour is intended to include a review of the base's military assets and quality-of-life offerings for service members and their families.

Among the recent developments at the air base are

an operations center for the Space Development Agency, set to open in the fall, as well as a $246 million upgrade to its existing facilities

for housing and maintaining state-of-the-art fighter jets.

Cramer also hopes to spotlight the base's features that precede its current role as host to the 319th Reconnaissance Wing.

"One of the things I talked to (Wing Commander Col. Tim Monroe) about is to make sure (Wilsbach) gets a good view of the fuel assets, because that's an old fuel base and bomber base and its got rather remarkable infrastructure for fuel storage," Cramer said.

Wilsbach's tour is also set to include a review of the base's housing facilities and Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School, which the air base's school district is hoping to rebuild with the support of a Department of Defense grant.

"If we want — and we do — a durable base that lasts for a long time, taking care of the people that live and work there is just as important as taking care of the weapons systems or the technology they operate," Cramer said.

Cramer is concerned in particular about mental health options for service members, particularly after multiple airmen stationed at Grand Forks have died by suicide in recent years.

He said he's pushed to loosen the requirements for mental health care providers currently mandated by Tricare, the military's health insurance program, which he says further restricts service members seeking care amid an already limited number of practitioners in North Dakota.

Cramer highlighted several areas to which he could see the air base's mission expanding, particularly if the base runway is restored to its 300-foot width from Grand Forks AFB's Cold War role as a host to B-52 bombers.

Pointing to the 319th's current use of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance plane, he said the base could play a role in bringing collaborative combat aircraft — unmanned aircraft that accompany and support a piloted aircraft — into the Air Force.

He also suggested the base could serve an expanded role in the Air Force's Arctic operations amid continued hostilities with Russia and China.

In the long term, Cramer said, Grand Forks Air Force Base could even become Joint Base Grand Forks, as the military's space operations expand and the global network of military satellites the SDA will operate from Grand Forks comes online.

"Space is advancing so fast that it almost leaves the Air Force behind in certain respects," Cramer said. "I can get in a lot of trouble for saying something like that, but it really is amazing."