Minot AFB munition squadron realigns under new command Published Dec. 2, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Mark Bell 5 BW/PA MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The 17th Munitions Squadron here was realigned as part of the Air Force's decision to transfer the functions performed under Air Force Materiel Command directly to Air Force Global Strike Command. 17 MUNS, realigned as the 705th Munitions Squadron, and will now fall under the 5th Bomb Wing's Maintenance Group. "Continuing to strengthen the nuclear enterprise remains a top priority of the Air Force," said Col. James Dawkins Jr., 5th Bomb Wing commander. "This realignment allows for enhanced unity of command within a single major command responsible for most of the nuclear operational mission. As we've made steady progress the past two years to improve the structure, culture, and processes of the nuclear enterprise, this realignment of the 705th MUNS is a great step towards our Airmen performing the mission that much more efficiently." From a historical perspective this realignment process is quite common, based upon the Air Force's needs and force structures it is necessary for older units to be put back on to active status with new missions, new designations, and at new locations over time. Previously, the 2009 activation of the 17 MUNS here was part of the organizational effort to place all of AFMC's nuclear-related missions under a single umbrella, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. The 17 MUNS originally began its existence and lineage as the 17th Aviation Depot Squadron, at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and has been inactivated and reactivated several times over the past several decades.