New dorm provides Airmen comfort for winter ahead Published Oct. 28, 2013 By Senior Airman Jose L. Hernandez Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Minot Air Force Base's first snowfall brought with it good news for its youngest-tier Airmen, as the fourth and newest dormitory was unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony here, Oct. 23. The dorm will provide 168 Airmen with new living quarters. "This new dorm, as with all the new dorms, serves as a reminder of our dedication to caring for our Airmen and ensuring an improved quality of life at Minot AFB," said Lt. Col. Douglas Gilpin, 5th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. Priced at $21 million, the dormitory's design provides 42 four-person unit modules. Each with private bathrooms and baths, including a shared living room, kitchen, washer, dryer, full size refrigerator, cook top and microwave. This is in contrast to the existing and aged dorms, which provide limited shared space and only one kitchen and laundry facility for an entire building. Often times, Airmen in the old dorms were doubled up in one room, sharing one bathroom among four people. Another unique feature of the new dormitory unveiled is its use of geothermal technologies to provide both heat and air-conditioning. This energy conservation feature allows each resident to have their own heat and air-conditioning controls. The centralized location of the new dorms allowed for the installment of a basketball court, a sand volleyball court, a fire pit area, numerous sitting areas, a covered pavilion for outdoor cooking, and bicycle racks as well. For Airman 1st Class Megan Mitchell, 5th Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment apprentice, it is exciting to know she will be receiving keys to brand new living quarters. Being a Sacramento, Calif., native, her move to Minot was a big change and even more so because of her arrival during a flood-stricken Minot, which was recovering from the 2011 Souris River Flood. The natural disaster negatively affected the base's housing capacity, since dorms were used as housing for all incoming Airmen, including officers. In addition to the oil boom in North Dakota, the flood only made it more difficult for Airmen to find homes in Minot. The doubling-up of Airmen throughout the old dorms became rampant and Mitchell witnessed it first-hand. After almost two years of living in an aged dormitory, she is looking forward to enjoying the amenities the new dorm has to offer. "It's good to know I can have my own room, bathroom, walk-in closet and more," said Mitchell. Renovations and construction of Minot AFB dorms has been steady since 2008, due to a $94 million investment to improve the base. In addition to new construction, the base has also been able to demolish five of its dormitories. One dormitory was also reclassified into lodging to accommodate visitor's quarters. "Our work is not yet finished," said Gilpin. He added his team will work through the challenges of reduced funding and sequestration to continue to advocate for construction of new dorms and the sustainment of existing dorm infrastructure. The base currently has plans to completely renovate six dorms between now and 2020.