In the 1950s the US considered the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack from the north a very real possibility, and the northern air space was reinforced with several new Air Bases and a network of early warning radar stations. Minot Air Force base was one of these, started in 1955, opening operations in 1958, and fully activated in 1961, Minot has guarded the northern approaches to the US ever since.

The first mission of Minot AFB was and is to provide a base for strategic bomber units, bomber refuelling, and early radar warning of attack. Complementing this mission, Minot AFB was selected as the command center for a network of Minuteman I missile silos, upgraded to Minuteman III missiles in the 1970s.

In addition to the strategic deterrence mission, Minot has hosted long range reconnaissance planes (notably U2 aircraft) and for a time the Strategic Projection Force. Today the Minot mission remains much the same as when the base was first constructed: watch the north.