Vice President Mike Pence plans to visit Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota Oct. 27 to review the base’s two nuclear missions, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) announced Oct. 25.
Pence will meet with the base leadership and address the airmen, Hoeven said.
“It’s important for the administration to be familiar with the good work of our airmen and understand the importance of maintaining a credible and modern nuclear force to counter threats like North Korea and Iran,” said Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and co-chair of the Senate Air Force Caucus.
Minot is home to nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and nuclear-armed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Hoeven has promoted legislation to upgrade the B-52 and sustain and develop a replacement for the Minuteman.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson both visited the base in September.
Pence’s visit comes as the Department of Defense is nearing completion of a nuclear posture review. The review, whose findings are due to President Donald Trump by year’s end, is scrutinizing plans to replace all three legs of the nuclear triad: ballistic missile submarines, bombers and ground-based ICBMs.
