News

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota National Guard’s 957th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge) will conduct field training exercises 2-14 June 2023, in the Kimball Bottoms area near the Missouri River, south of Bismarck.

The N.D. National Guard reminds the public to be aware of the training activities and to use extreme caution when in the area, since there will be increased vehicle and boat traffic during unit training operations. The public’s cooperation and understanding is appreciated.

For the safety of the public, the off-road vehicle area known as the Desert will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 8 through 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14.

Columbarium Groundbreaking Afterwards

MANDAN, N.D. — The 2023 Memorial Day Ceremony will begin at 12 p.m. (Central Time), Monday, May 29, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, 6.5 miles south of Mandan on North Dakota Highway 1806. This annual event, hosted by the North Dakota National Guard, honors all deceased American servicemen and women and is free and open to the public. The first observance was held in 1993.

The ceremony will be live streamed at NDGuard.ND.gov and on the North Dakota National Guard Facebook page. It will begin with a flyover performed by two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at approximately 12:03 p.m.

Approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Memorial Day observance, a groundbreaking ceremony will be conducted for a planned 2,240 compartment-niche columbarium at the northeast corner of the cemetery. This facility, scheduled for completion October 2023, is funded by grants from the VA’s National Cemetery Administration and the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery Foundation of $1.86 million and $600,000 respectively. More information about the columbarium is available on the program insert.

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion will host their spring Discovery Career Fair, May 17 and May 18, at the Bismarck State College (BSC) Career Academy, Bismarck. Purpose of the fair is to highlight the many career fields offered by the North Dakota Army National Guard to area high school students.

This event will showcase key job skills including air defense artillery, aviation, information technology, engineering, vehicle maintenance, military police, medical, and Civil Support Team.

Media is invited to cover this event. Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Carrigan, 701-425-4844, will be on site to assist media.

Devils Lake, N.D. — The North Dakota Army National Guard’s Camp Grafton Training Center (CGTC) and 164^th Regional Training Institute (RTI) welcomed new commanders today in change of command ceremonies conducted at the Training Center near Devils Lake.

In the first ceremony, Lt. Col. Anna L. Wittrock assumed duties as the commander of CGTC from Col. Philip F. Baker Jr. who has led the unit since April 1, 2022. An hour later, Baker assumed command of the 164^th RTI from Col. Russ Wolf, who is scheduled to retire later this month.

The commander of the North Dakota Army National Guard, Brig. Gen. Jon Erickson, presided over both ceremonies. The change of command ceremony is a time-honored military tradition that represents the formal transfer of authority and responsibility for a unit from one commanding officer to another. The event is witnessed by members of the unit, as well as other military members, families and friends.

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion will host Northern Cass (NC) Military Career Expo Day, May 2, at Northern Cass School, Hunter, N.D. Purpose of the event is to highlight the diverse career fields offered by Army National Guard membership to area high school students.

This event will showcase key job skills including air defense artillery, information technology, engineering, vehicle maintenance, and military police. The event also includes Veterans appreciation and recognition. Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Binstock, N.D. Army National Guard state command sergeant major, will welcome each group of students.

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota National Guard’s 81^st Civil Support Team (CST) welcomed a new commander today at the National Guard’s headquarters at Fraine Barracks in Bismarck.  

Maj. Shawn A. Markovic assumed duties as commander from Lt. Col. Pat R. Flanagan who has led the CST since January 2020. Col. Paul Helten, commander, 68^th Troop Command, presided over the change of command ceremony.

The change of command ceremony is a time-honored military tradition that represents the formal transfer of authority and responsibility for a unit from one commanding officer to another. The event is witnessed by members of the unit, as well as other military members, families and friends.

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota National Guard is assisting local flood mitigation efforts by placing one-ton sandbags by helicopter this afternoon near White Earth, North Dakota east of Tioga. At the request of the Mountrail County emergency manager, the Guard diverted one UH-60 Black Hawk from today’s scheduled training at Kimball Bottoms south of Bismarck to assist the local community.

“Expanding our training to two sites is a win-win scenario,” said Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general. “In addition to assisting one of our communities, simultaneous missions provides excellent training for our operations personnel commanding and controlling aircraft in multiple locations. We will also gain experience working with community members who fill and stage these large sandbags.”

The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is emplacing one-ton sandbags to block an interior drainage culvert, preventing further inundation of the town of White Earth.

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota National Guard’s Company C, 2^nd Battalion, 285^th Aviation Regiment will conduct one-ton sandbag training on Wednesday, April 12, and Sunday, April 16, in the vicinity of Kimball Bottoms near the Missouri River, south of Bismarck. This training will include all of the tasks involved in placing one-ton sandbags by Black Hawk helicopters and will occur in the parking area near the boat ramp. These large sandbags are used to block water and slow erosion during emergency flood response operations.

The use of one-ton sandbags in emergency response was last used on May 3, 2022, when Gov. Doug Burgum authorized the N.D. National Guard to assist in stabilization efforts on the Bourbanis Dam at the request of the Pembina County emergency manager. These large sandbags were also used during the Guard’s 2009 flood response and in Minot during 2011 flooding.

BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota Army National Guard unit has received an alert for possible mobilization. If ordered to mobilize, the Bismarck-based Detachment 7, Company C, 2^nd Battalion, 245^th Aviation Regiment would deploy to the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations sometime late summer 2023.

If ordered to mobilize, about six Soldiers are expected to be deployed about one year. The unit operates a C-12 Huron aircraft which provides transportation of personnel and light cargo.

BISMARCK, N.D. – The 2023 North Dakota Governor’s Military Ball was held on Saturday, March 18 at the Radisson Inn in downtown Bismarck. About 220 North Dakota National Guard members, spouses, friends and other civilian guests attended this formal event.

The formal portion of the program included remarks by Gov. Doug Burgum, commander in chief of the North Dakota National Guard, and presentation of awards.

“The incredible work that is being done, both here and abroad, by our North Dakota National Guard doesn’t go unnoticed,” Gov. Doug Burgum said. “We’re grateful that night after night, day after day, the call to duty by this group and our communities across the state who support them has always been met, and met at the highest level.”