The North Dakota Air National Guard (ND ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of North Dakota, United States. Along with the North Dakota Army National Guard, it is an element of the North Dakota National Guard.
As state militia units, the units in the North Dakota Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of North Dakota though the office of the North Dakota Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The North Dakota Air National Guard is headquartered in Fargo, and its commander is Major General Alan S. Dohrmann.
Overview
Under the "Total Force" concept, North Dakota Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the United States Air Force (USAF). North Dakota ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, the North Dakota Air National Guard forces are assigned to Air Expeditionary Forces and are subject to deployment tasking orders along with their active duty and Air Force Reserve counterparts in their assigned cycle deployment window.
Along with their federal reserve obligations, as state militia units the elements of the North Dakota ANG are subject to being activated by order of the Governor to provide protection of life and property, and preserve peace, order and public safety. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of vital public services, and support to civil defense.
Components
The North Dakota Air National Guard consists of the following major unit: 119th Wing Established 1 February 1947 (as: 178th Fighter Squadron) Stationed at: Fargo Air National Guard Base Gained by: Air Combat Command The mission of the 119th Wing is reconnaissance. The 178th Reconnaissance Squadron includes operations of the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, a medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft. 219th Security Forces Squadron, attached to 91st Missile Wing, Twentieth Air Force
History
On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units.
The North Dakota Air National Guard received federal recognition on 1 February 1947 as the 1178th Fighter Squadron at Hector Field, Fargo. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the North Dakota Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act.
The North Dakota Air National Guard has been tasked to perform its state mission on many occasions. Prominent examples include Operation Haylift in 1949, providing relief to blizzard-bound farms and ranches, and more recently, Operation Snowball and Operation Good Neighbor in 1997, to combat unprecedented winter snowfall and spring flooding conditions throughout North Dakota.
Federalization of the North Dakota Air National Guard occurred during the Korean War, with the unit mobilized and ordered to active duty in 1951, returning to Fargo and state control in 1953. It also occurred following the September 11 attacks in 2001, when hundreds of airmen were voluntarily recalled to active duty status for Operation Noble Eagle, under the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the "all States agreement".
Air Defense alert has been a major part of the North Dakota Air National Guard's tasking since September 1953. The unit provided alert coverage at Fargo, with either two or four aircraft continuously on status, until March 1990 when home station alert was discontinued. Other alert sites include March Air Reserve Base, California, and Kingsley Field, near Klamath Falls, Oregon. The most recent permanent alert detachment was at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia with 36 full-time personnel operating aircraft maintenance, munitions, supply, administrative and operational command responsibilities. The detachment closed in October 2006 due to the change from the F-16C fighter to the Learjet C-21A transport.