Buildings and Facilities
Buildings on the station include:
- Gate
- The controlled entry point to the station
- Recreation hall
- Transmitter building
- Used for radio contact with airborne aircraft and other ground stations
- Search Radar Tower
- Height finder radar tower
- (2) Radomes
- The radome "balloons", made up of several layers of latex rubber-coated nylon, are held up by one-tenth pound of air pressure per square inch. In the event of wind (a common occurrence in North Dakota), the pressure within the "balloon" is automatically adjusted by blowers.
- Heating plant
- Steam heat is provided for the entire station by two coal-fired boilers. There is a 70,000-gallon water reservoir fed by two 540-foot-deep (160 m) wells. The heating plant used approximately 1,000 tons of coal annually.
- Hose houses
- Hose houses are insulated huts for fire hydrants. Six are located at strategic locations around the station.
- Air Installations Building
- This is the building that most of the 17 civilian contractors work out of.
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- Water distribution plant
- Water purification plant
- 20,000 gallons of high-alkaline water get processed into potable water daily by using 94%-concentrate sulfuric acid plus other filtering and purifying chemicals.
- Living quarters
- (6) Barracks
- (9) Houses - six for officers, three for senior NCOs
- Motor Pool
- The pumps are fed by a 4,000-gallon underground gasoline storage tank, and the station uses in excess of 1,000 gallons monthly. Only minor repairs and preventative maintenance are performed here, the rest being contracted to local businesses.
- Operations Building
- The "Mission Central" of the base where most of the operations of the base are performed.
- Chapel
- Dining hall
- Dispensary
- Although mostly a first aid station, there is a fully qualified medic on duty here 24 hours a day.
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