North Dakota Air National Guard

North Dakota Air National Guard
Active	1946 - present
Country	United States
Branch	Air National Guard
Role	"To meet state and federal mission responsibilities."
Garrison/HQ	Hector International Airport
Nickname	The Happy Hooligans
Commanders
Civilian leadership	President Barack Obama (Commander-in-Chief) Michael B. Donley (Secretary of the Air Force) Governor Jack Dalrymple (Governor of the State of North Dakota)
State military leadership	Major General David A. Sprynczynaty
Insignia
USAF Roundel
Aircraft flown
Patrol	General Atomics MQ-1 Predator
Transport	Learjet C-21A

The North Dakota Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is, along with the North Dakota Army National Guard, an element of the North Dakota National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as of the state.

Mission

The mission of the North Dakota Air National Guard is two-fold. Its state mission, under the command of the Governor, is to support state and local authorities in civil emergencies. Under the federal mission, the unit is available for mobilization and immediate integration into the U.S. Air Force.

History

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.^[1]

The first overseas deployment of the North Dakota Air Guard occurred in 1983, with six F-4D Phantom II fighters and 120 support personnel deploying to Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. Eight Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 reconnaissance aircraft were intercepted by the "Happy Hooligan" pilots during the deployment. In 1986, the 119th Fighter Group became the first core unit to assume the USAF Zulu alert mission at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Referred to as "Creek Klaxon", the 119th and other air defense units stood continuous alert for one year providing air sovereignty in Europe for NATO. During Operation Desert Storm, 107 North Dakota ANG members were mobilized and deployed in support of operations at numerous locations in the United States. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules support aircraft assigned to the North Dakota Air National Guard and aircrew also provided stateside airlift of personnel and equipment to support Operation Desert Storm. Most recently, after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast of the United States, the 119th Fighter Wing answered the call for assistance, responding with less than forty-eight hours notice and deployed 64 personnel from the Civil Engineering Squadron, prepared 228.1 metric tonnes of equipment and supplies and loaded three C-5A Galaxy and one C-130H transport aircraft for deployment to Gulfport, Mississippi, to build and support the tent city required to house over 2,000 National Guard relief workers. The Services Flight also prepared over 210,000 meals over a 60 day period for the relief workers.^[2]

In its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendations, the United States Department of Defense recommended to realign the 119th Fighter Wing and retire the wing’s 15 F-16s. Hector IAP ranked low in military value. The reduction in the F-16 force structure and the need to align common versions of the F-16 at the same bases argued for realigning Hector IAP to allow its aircraft to retire without a flying mission backfill. As of 2006 the NDANG has been flying the Learjet C-21A executive transport. The North Dakota ANG was also running a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator flight operations squadron in Fargo which flew daily in Iraq.

In 2013, the 119th Wing is scheduled to receive Alenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft in addition to the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator already flown.^[3]

Units

The North Dakota Air National Guard consists of the following units:^[4]

• 119th Wing at Hector International Airport (provides legal office, public affairs, finance, safety, chaplain, and contracting)
  • 119th Operations Group (provides airfield management, intelligence, weather, aviation resource management, and aircrew flight equipment)
    • 178th Airlift Squadron
  • 119th Maintenance Group (provides aerospace maintenance, integrated avionics systems, aerospace ground equipment, aircraft hydraulic systems, network infrastructure systems, aircraft systems, aircraft fuel systems, aircraft electrical and environmental systems, aircraft fabrication/aircraft metals technology, and munitions systems)
  • 119th Medical Group (provides medical/health systems management, dentistry, bioenvironmental, public health, and aerospace medical services)
  • 119th Mission Support Group (provides civil engineering, communications & computer systems, logistics plans, mission support flight, security forces, services, fuels, vehicle maintenance, supply, and information management)
• 219th Security Forces Squadron, at Minot Air Force Base (provides security forces, and medical/health systems management)

Aircraft operated

Since 1947 the North Dakota Air National Guard has operated the following aircraft:^[5]

• C-27J Spartan (2013)
• MQ-1A Predator (2007–present)
• C-21 Learjet (2006–present)
• C-26 Metroliner (1992-199?)
• F-16A/B Fighting Falcon (1990–2007)
• C-130B Hercules (1987–1992)
• F-4D Phantom II (1977–1990)
• C-131 Samaritan (1975–1987)
• VT-29 Samaritan (1972–1975)
• F-101B Voodoo (1969–1977)
• C-54 Skymaster (1967–1972)
• F-102A Delta Dagger (1966–1969)
• F-89J Scorpion (1959–1966)
• F-89D Scorpion (1958–1959)
• C-45 Expeditor (1955–1959)
• T-33 Shooting Star (1954–1987)
• F-94A/B/C Starfire (1954–1958)
• L-5 Sentinel (1948-??)
• C-47 Skytrain (1948–1968)
• B-26 Invader (1948-54)
• AT-6 Texan (1947-54)
• P-51D Mustang (1947–1954)

• 

  An 119th FG F-51D in the early 1950s.

• 

  An F-94C in 1958.

• 

  An F-89J in the 1960s.

• 

  The F-102A was flown only from 1966 to 1969.

• 

  F-101B Voodoos in the 1970s.

• 

  An F-4D intercepting a Soviet Tu-95 off Iceland, 1983.

• 

  F-16A/Bs shortly before retirement, October 2006.

• 

  An F-16 escorts the first ND ANG C-21 in 2007.

• 

  The first North Dakota ANG MQ-1, June 2010.

References

1. ^ http://www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/history/abbreviatedhistory/Documents/NDNG%20Abbreviated%20History.pdf
2. ^ http://www.119wg.ang.af.mil/resources/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=11761
3. ^ http://www.119wg.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123226259
4. ^ http://www.119wg.ang.af.mil/units/index.asp
5. ^ World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. ISBN 1-880588-01-3

External links

United States Air Force portal

• North Dakota National Guard
• North Dakota Air National Guard
• 119th Wing official site