FARGO, N.D. — As 2014 draws to a close, the North Dakota National Guard revisits the service and accomplishments of Soldiers and Airmen from across the state. In a year marked by celebrating new and existing global partnerships, North Dakota Guardsmen remained engaged in missions and training both here and around the world in 2014.
“This year offered a number of opportunities for the North Dakota National Guard to meet challenges and recognize accomplishments,” said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general. “The citizen-Soldiers and citizen-Airmen of North Dakota, with the ongoing support and service of their families, continue to demonstrate their competency and flexibility as a trained and ready force for our communities, state and nation. Our Guardsmen are truly the best in the nation.”
Here’s a look back at some of the key events, missions and moments of 2014 for the North Dakota National Guard:
A Decade-Long Partnership
The North Dakota National Guard commemorated its decade-long partnership with the African nation of Ghana in early 2014. Ten years of collaborating and building relationships within the framework of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP) have brought resulted in 25 events in four African countries with 65 individual participants from North Dakota in 2014.
The partnership now has broadened to include a number of civilian agencies, such as Bismarck State College, Minot State University, Sanford Health and the N.D. Department of Health. The program as a whole encourages the development of economic, political and military ties between the states and partner nations. During the past 10 years, 300 Soldiers, Airmen and civilian counterparts have gone to Ghana to participate in programs to include emergency preparedness, cyber security and medical first responders.
New Partnerships
In early 2014, North Dakota broadened its participation in the SPP by signing formal partnership agreements with the Republic of Benin and the Togolese Republic. With the addition of these two nations to the SPP, the North Dakota National Guard is the first state National Guard to be officially partnered with three African nations.
The partnerships formed between North Dakota, Togo and Benin further demonstrates the National Guard’s commitment to support the National Defense Strategy and increasingly focus on regions like Africa. The Guard possesses capabilities, such as humanitarian assistance, disaster response, defense support to civil authorities, construction, security, and professional officer and noncommissioned officer development, that will help meet the needs of both Togo and Benin and the U.S. Department of Defense in Africa.
Deployments, Stateside and Abroad
Airmen and Soldiers continued to serve on overseas deployments and stateside missions in 2014. Currently, about 15 Soldiers are mobilized from the Valley City-based 231st Brigade Support Battalion. The group of Soldiers was organized into a specialized Logistical Support Element and deployed in late 2014. The unit, designated as the 231st BSB LSE, is providing logistical support to units in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, where they are managing supply, maintenance, transportation, and cargo movement activities. In addition, one Soldier – a bilateral affairs officer – is deployed to Ghana, one Soldier is deployed to Italy, and one Airman is deployed to Germany.
Today, Airmen from the 119th Wing stationed stateside remain engaged in the Global War on Terror as they support remote piloted aircraft overseas.
Furthermore, a few aviation Soldiers from the North Dakota Army National Guard continue to serve with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the southwest border of the United States in Texas. In January 2015, nearly 50 Soldiers are expected to deploy to in support of the southwest border mission.
From the beginning of 2014, the North Dakota National Guard has remained ready and engaged when called upon. In January, approximately 40 Soldiers from the Bismarck-based 814th Medical Company (Area Support) deployed to Afghanistan were mobilized with a primary mission to provide patient transport between treatment facilities on base, as well as medical treatment for coalition forces at a troop medical clinic. Due to the drawdown in Afghanistan, some of the medical Soldiers returned home in August, nearly three months earlier than their original demobilization date. The remaining Soldiers returned in October 2014.
A small group of Airmen assigned to the Minot, N.D.-based 219th Security Forces Squadron left in March 2014 for a six-month deployment to Southwest Asia, where they supported U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) operations. About 15 Airmen volunteered for the base defense and security operations mission.
More than 200 Guardsmen mobilized in 2013 and served stateside in 2014. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment returned home in May 2014 after spending nearly a year in the Washington, D.C., area in support of Operation Noble Eagle. The Guardsmen conducted 24/7 operations from July 2013 to April 2014 as a ground-based air defense battalion, collaborating with other Department of Defense agencies as part of the integrated air defense system designed to protect the airspace around the National Capital Region.
In October 2014, about 40 Soldiers with the Bismarck-based Company C, 2nd Battalion, 285th Regiment returned home from a yearlong international peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. The North Dakota Soldiers operated UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as part of the Kosovo Forces (KFOR 18) Aviation Task Force in support of the U.S.-led Multi National Battle Group East, which conducts military peace support operations in Kosovo. The unit provided air transport for U.S. and NATO forces, to include training and assistance to the Kosovo Security Forces.
Training at Home and Away
To remain prepared for local contingency operations, the North Dakota National Guard conducted its annual flood response exercise in February 2014.
The 188th Army Band sponsored an educational masterclass and clinic for young musicians and hosted a free concert for the public at Williston State College in April. In June, the band supported The North Dakota National Guard’s Child and Youth Program by hosting a Military Music Camp for the state’s military children musicians at North Dakota State University in Fargo. The band also performed at Island Park in downtown Fargo in July. In honor of the state’s 125th birthday, the band’s hour-long performance included a mix of patriotic music.
In May, full-time NDNG Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the state’s 81st Civil Support Team responded to a simulated radiological threat during a no-notice exercise and Training Proficiency Evaluation administered by U.S. Army North’s Charlie Division, Civil Support Training Activity. The training scenarios were conducted on the campus of the University of Mary south of Bismarck. On standby around the clock and capable of responding within 90 minutes, CSTs are highly-specialized units that are trained and equipped to assist civilian first responders when reacting to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive agents.
Also in May, the North Dakota National Guard’s 219th Security Forces Squadron participated in a large training event at the missile field complex near Minot Air Force Base. The Airmen’s training culminated in “Operation Minute Man,” a two-week surge period, where North Dakota Air National Guard members took primary positions for missile field security in the entire northern portion of the missile field complex. The training is one element of a broader operational goal described by the U.S. Air Force as “total force,” which means forces from Air National Guard, Reserve, and active-duty components are integrated for military missions conducted globally.
In June and July, the 957th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge) conducted field training exercises at the Kimball Bottoms area, south of Bismarck. More than 120 Soldiers convened at the site to conduct rafting and bridging operations on the Missouri River.
Also in June, members of the 116th Public Affairs Detachment were in Latvia in support of unscheduled land-force exercises between NATO allies in the Baltic region. During the support mission, the Soldiers participated in Exercise Saber Strike, a long-standing, multilateral, multifaceted, U.S Army Europe-led security cooperation exercise primarily focused on the three Baltic States. The exercise spanned multiple locations in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and involved approximately 4,500 personnel from 10 countries.
Back home, in November, water purification specialists from the Grand Forks-based 132nd Quartermaster Company convened at Camp Grafton Training Center in Devils Lake to enhance the unit’s operational capacity. The company’s Soldiers, in just one day’s time, are able to arrive on location in an operational environment, set up their water purification systems, produce 360,000 gallons of clean drinking water, and breakdown the systems to move to a new location.
Recognizing Excellence
Beyond recognizing Soldiers and Airmen for their service overseas, a number of accolades were bestowed upon members of the North Dakota National Guard in 2014.
Two of the U.S. Army Engineer Regiment’s most prestigious honors were presented to North Dakota Soldiers this year. Col. Steven Tabor, of Bismarck, N.D., who served full-time as the N.D. National Guard’s director of facilities and engineering and is now retired from the Guard, was awarded the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal early in the year for his support to National Guard Construction and Facilities Management efforts, both regionally and nationally. Later, in December of this year, Sprynczynatyk was awarded the Silver Order of the de Fleury Medal during a surprise ceremony at the Guard’s Raymond J. Bohn armory in Bismarck. This award was in recognition of Sprynczynatyk’s exceptionally meritorious service to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Army National Guard spanning more than three decades.
In March, the Fargo-based 119th Wing, also known as the “Happy Hooligans,” recognized the “best of the best” during the Outstanding Airmen of the Year banquet. Fifteen Airmen were nominated for the award based on their military and civic service during 2013, with only three winners walking away with titles: Master Sgt. Toby Eiter was named Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Staff Sgt. Andrew Frovarp was named Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, and Staff Sgt. Shelly Pherson was named Airman of the Year.
Later in the year, the 119th Wing celebrated its 16th Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. No other unit in the nation has received this impressive award more than the Happy Hooligans’ 16th presentation; with most units claiming the OUA only three to five times.
For their generosity, support and devotion to fellow Guardsmen, families and volunteers also were recognized in March during the North Dakota National Guard’s Volunteer Symposium at the Ramada Plaza and Suites in Fargo.
Also in March, the North Dakota National Guard’s biathlon team concluded another biathlon season at the Annual Chief of the National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships. Seven North Dakota Soldiers and Airmen competed against counterparts from more than 20 states Feb. 26-March 6 at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, in Jericho, Vermont. The North Dakota team placed second to the Vermont team in national competition after winning the Central Region Biathlon Competition at Camp Ripley, Minn., for the fifth time in a row Feb. 3-8. The North Dakota team took first place in national competition 2010 and 2013.
In May, after undergoing a series of detailed inspections, North Dakota Army National Guard instructors and cadre at the 164th Regiment’s Regional Training Institute (164th RTI-ND) this year reestablished its Army schoolhouse as an “Institution of Excellence,” as deemed by a team of evaluators from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). The TRADOC accreditation process is administered in 3-year cycles to Army training institutions nationwide. This is the third time the 164th RTI-ND, which is located at Camp Grafton Training Center near Devils Lake, has received a “Fully Accredited” rating and “Institution of Excellence” status since 2008.
In June, Sgt. 1st Class Paul Deegan, of Devils Lake, was named the 2013 National Guard Instructor of the Year by TRADOC. Deegan, a long-time combat engineer instructor and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran from the North Dakota National Guard’s 164th RTI-ND, was selected for the recognition, beating out all other National Guard instructors in the United States.
In July, 52 of North Dakota’s best military shooters began this year’s National Guard Marksmanship Program competition cycle, starting with participation in the Annual Adjutant General's Combat Marksmanship Match at the Camp Grafton Training Center’s southern training area. Following state competition, qualifying marksmen traveled to Camp Guernsey, Wyoming, for regional matches, where a North Dakota team comprised of both Army and Air Guard members took first place for the third year in a row. After securing first place scores in rifle and pistol contests, along with a “3-gun match” and the “General George Patton Match,” a four-person 817th Engineer Company (Sapper) team, from Jamestown, North Dakota, produced a dominant aggregate team score to come out on top during state competition. The unit has won the contest every year for the past 30 years.
Former Guardsman and lifelong marksman, Sgt. 1st Class Gary Varberg, of Cooperstown, North Dakota, was inducted into the Association of Marksmen in the National Guard Hall of Fame. Varberg was one of the state’s most revered shooters.
In late August, 18 of North Dakota’s top Soldiers competed at Camp Grafton Training Center in this year’s state-level Best Warrior Competition. After being tested on military knowledge and physical tasks, Staff Sgt. Jason Dittus, of Bismarck, and a member of the 818th Engineer Company, was named “Best Warrior” in the noncommissioned officer category, and Spc. David Hathaway, of Mobridge, South Dakota, and a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, took top honors in the enlisted category.
In September, North Dakota’s Combined Support Maintenance Shop, based at Camp Grafton Training Center, accepted the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence in the “Small Tables of Distribution and Allowances Unit” category. The CSMS took top honors over 35 other active-duty, Reserve and National Guard maintenance organizations. According to the U.S. Army, the awards program was developed “to honor the best units in the categories of deployment, supply and maintenance.”
Late this year, two Guardsmen were recognized for their individual life-saving actions in separate critical situations. Master Sgt. Grant Lonski, an Airman with the Fargo-based 119th Security Forces Squadron, and Sgt. Kelly Grotte, a team leader and recovery operator for the Minot-based Forward Support Company, 164th Engineer Battalion, were formally thanked for heroic and selfless actions that likely saved the lives of two North Dakota citizens.
| Date Taken: | 12.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2014 18:30 |
| Story ID: | 151235 |
| Location: | FARGO, ND, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
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This work, Recognizing Selfless Service: North Dakota National Guard Revisits 2014, by SSG Eric Jensen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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