5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron

During the early years of Minot Air Force Base from 1960 to 1988, the men and women of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron flew aircraft including the T-33, one of the first aircraft assigned to Minot AFB, and carried out a mission of intercepting enemy bombers. As an Air Defense Command unit, the squadron's motto was Isti Non Penetrabunt, meaning “They shall not penetrate,” and was also known colloquially among crews as “The bastards shall not pass.” The squadron also had a pair of Canadian lynx mascots named “Spittin” and “Kitten,” and the lynx den in the squadron became one of the few places in the U.S. where Canadian lynx bred in captivity, leading the Saint Louis and San Diego zoos to copy its environment in hopes of producing offspring.

Minot, North Dakota · United States