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New breezeway a family affair

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jessica McConnell
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. - --  Airmen and their families no longer have to brave sub-zero temperatures when walking between the Base Exchange and Commissary, after a new breezeway connecting the two buildings officially opened here on a cold and windy day Dec. 13.

The new, climate-controlled walkway is intended to protect people from the harsh weather conditions common to the area, said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, Air Force Global Strike Command commander who flew in from the command headquarters at Barksdale AFB, La., to officiate the ceremony.

"On a day like today in North Dakota, it's abundantly clear why this walkway is needed," said the general, who thanked the organizations involved in the $743,000 project during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The walkway was a joint effort among the Army Air Force Exchange Service, the Defense Commissary Agency and the Air Force, with design and construction support provided by contractors ALSC Architects and Rolac Contracting, Inc.

The outdoor temperature read 9 degrees at the time of the ceremony.

Mrs. Katie Becker, wife of deployed Staff Sgt. Dustin Becker, 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron weapons loader, helped the general cut the ribbon. The 5th Bomb Wing commander, Col. Doug Cox, and the 91st Missile Wing commander, Col. Fred Stoss, assisted as well. Mrs. Becker then walked down the 180-foot corridor with her twin children in a stroller along with General Klotz, the wing commanders and most of the nearly 100 people who witnessed the ceremony.

"As a mother of four kids, it's the most dreadful part of the winter," said Mrs. Becker. "As a mom, I see the breezeway as a vast improvement to our overall quality of life."

A typical year in the area includes more than 200 days of freezing temperatures, snow, ice and high winds--weather conditions General Klotz knows well from personal experience. Having served seven years at North Dakota bases, he said he remembers bundling up his two small children in order to walk between the BX and Commissary.

The positive impact of the breezeway will be significant because these are the most visited facilities on base, officials said.

The breezeway is part of a series of construction projects aimed to make life better for Airmen and their families, the general said. Renovation and construction of new base housing, a world-class fitness center with an elevated indoor track and indoor swimming pool, one newly constructed dormitory with two more on the way, the new Exchange, the new Shoppette, and new facilities for indoor storage of vehicles are all improvements over the past dozen years, he said.

The breezeway project also replaced the Commissary's aging doors and will increase energy efficiency by providing a tighter building envelope and reducing heat loss in the winter and cooling loss in the summer, according to officials.