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Residents Excited Over UAV Prospects: Project Would Turn Former Missile Site into Testing and Training Center

Posted on: Friday, 19 May 2006, 09:06 CDT

By Elisa L. Rineheart, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

May 19--NEKOMA, N.D. - A proposed UND project to turn the inactive Stanley R. Mickelson Safeguard Complex here into a testing and certification center for flying drones has local residents anxiously waiting to find out if it will be restored to its old glory.

Mickelson Safeguard Complex was the only operational antiballistic missile system ever deployed by the United States.

The massive concrete military radar site is about 100 miles northwest of Grand Forks, in Cavalier County.

If approved, the UND school of aerospace project would bring fresh blood to the veins of Nekoma, a 101-year-old municipality suffering from loss of population and deteriorated job market, residents said.

UND is hoping for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to turn the site into a commercial UAV testing and training facility.

Marvin Gronhovd, 72, has farmed for decades near the military site and has seen its impact on the local economy.

"I'm quite sure local residents would like to see something constructive in the area," Gronhovd said. "But if they're just going to start something for a couple of days and then close it down like last time, it's crazy."

Gronhovd, a native of Langdon, N.D., about 15 miles north of Nekoma, was referring to the Pentagon's decision to shut down the site four months and 10 days after it become operational.

Boom days

Nekoma, which in Chippewa means, "a promise to do something," in the 1970s was the jewel of America's missile defense. Its population reached 300. The town's current population is 51.

Surrounding towns also benefited from the influx of highly paid missile experts and support personnel, said Joyce Esckilsen of Nekoma.

"That's how Langdon got their streets paved," she said.

But in 1976, Congress voted to close it down in accordance with the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States abrogated the treaty in the 1990s.

The concrete pyramid, with its 7-foot-thick, steel-reinforced walls that once housed a radar system, was gutted. The Army held on to the property because there was a possibility it could be used again to deploy missile defense. But last fall, the Base Realignment and Closure office decided to get rid of it.

The pyramid that stands proud on the flat prairie landscape like a sphinx guarding a pharaoh's tomb won't be demolished, Army officials said.

But about 10 part-time and seasonal workers who still maintain the grounds could lose their jobs if the property is completely shut down.

Lloyd Johnson said he'd like to see the installation revitalized. He said he supports the unmanned aerial vehicle proposal because he experienced first-hand the slow death of the area when the 430 active duty Army personnel and their families left in the late 1970s.

"I worked for the Ford Motor dealership at the time," said Johnson, of Lakota, N.D., about 45 miles south of Nekoma.

"We were busy. People were buying cars and houses and we had a grocery store. Now we don't even have an implement dealer," said Johnson, 72.

Historic site

Doug Marshall, co-author of UND's proposal, said he's somewhat concerned that a local movement to preserve the site as a historic area could obstruct plans to turn Nekoma into a commercial UAV research center.

Clinton Esckilsen, of Nekoma, a former Army warrant officer who trained missile defense officers when the site was active, is the leading man behind the movement to preserve the pyramid and a field of empty Spartan and Sprint missile silos next to it.

Esckilsen, who helped put together a nearly 400-page book about the history of Nekoma and its role in the Cold War, said he's excited about the proposed UAV testing range and would like to see it take off.

But, he also would like to preserve the military legacy of the town in which he chose to retire.

The state is interested in placing Cold War outdoor interpretative signs on the site's perimeter, but has no money to do it, said Fern Swenson, a deputy state historic preservation officer.

If the UND proposal doesn't pan out, the radar site could be auctioned, permanently closed or turned over to an interested local government agency, said Ret. Army Maj. Mark Hubbs, a senior historian with the Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Illinois.

The 440-acre military site features several operational facilities including a church, gym, office and industrial buildings and a helicopter landing pad that accommodates one aircraft.

Private and governmental agencies have asked for permission to lease the property, but since it was placed in "warm status" it couldn't be rented for long periods of time, said Jerry Greenwood, an engineer that oversees maintenance operations at the facility.

The North Dakota National Guard requested permission to use the site's helicopter landing pad, but has never used it, Greenwood said.

The future of the site has generated interest even among out-of-state visitors, who once lived in the area and have come back to visit family and friends.

Carol Goodman, executive director of Cavalier County Job Development Authority and a member of the Governor's Military Task Force, said she presented UND's proposal to the county board earlier this month. She said they were really excited and interested to see where it goes.

"Folks in the area would like to see something happening again," Goodman said.

Rineheart reports on business and military affairs. Reach her at (701) 780-1269, (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or at erineheart@gfherald.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

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Source: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

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