Col. Tim Bush, commander of the 319th Air Base Wing, greets Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics, as he arrives at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., on Oct. 12, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tim Flack)

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From right: Col. Tim Bush, commander of the 319th Air Base Wing, Col. Tammy Knierim, commander of the 319th Mission Support Group, and Chief Master Sgt. David Carlson, 319th ABW command chief master sergeant, salute the arrival of Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force of Installations, Environment and Logistics, as he arrives at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., on Oct. 12, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tim Flack)

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Mary Giltner, 319th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy base civil engineer, briefs Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics, during a bus tour of the Grand Forks AFB, N.D. on Oct. 13, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tim Flack)

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Members of the 69th Reconnaissance Group, a tenant command on Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., brief Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force of Installations, Environment and Logistics, during an Oct. 13, 2011 tour. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tim Flack)

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Staff Sgt. Christopher Phillips, with the 319th Security Forces Squadron, instructs Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics, on the proper method for adjusting the scope on a weapon during a tour of the firing range on Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D, on Oct. 13, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tim Flack)

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Terry Yonkers tours Grand Forks AFB

Published Oct. 14, 2011
By Tim Flack
319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Terry Yonkers, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Installations, Environment and Logistics, took a whirlwind tour of Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., Oct. 12 and 13.

During his visit, Mr. Yonkers toured the base, attended briefing sessions with the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Command's commander's conference, and met with members of the Grand Forks City Base Realignment Impact Committee.

Mr. Yonkers took the time to personally thank Airmen and civilians he met while touring various base facilities, including the new fire station, the firing range and tenant commands such as the Department of Homeland Security, the 69th Reconnaissance Group and the University of North Dakota's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence.

Mr. Yonkers lauded the "brotherhood" of service for the first-responders at the fire station and the 319th Security Forces.

Mr. Yonkers also praised the base in interviews with local media.

"I am delighted at how the base has been master planned and the shape of the infrastructure and the facilities," Mr. Yonkers told the Grand Forks Herald. "From an installations point of view, things are really in good shape in Grand Forks, more than any base I've been on."

Mr. Yonkers departed Grand Forks Oct. 13, headed for his next stop at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.