BISMARCK, N.D. — Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard, announced today that N.D. Army National Guard aviators are traveling to Arizona in order to support the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border security mission with aviation assets.
The Soldiers will support with one UH-60 Black Hawk and one UH-72A Lakota helicopter. These aircraft and assigned crews will support for periods of 45 or 90 days, depending on fulltime status and personnel and aircraft availability. The Black Hawk is assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment and the Lakota is from the 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Regiment. Both units are stationed at the Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility south of the Bismarck airport.
“The different terrain and austere environmental conditions at the border will provide diverse experiences for our aviation and maintenance crews not available here in North Dakota,” said Dohrmann. “This deployment will improve the overall proficiency and professionalism of the Soldiers involved.”
Fourteen Guard Soldiers will support this mission. They are pilots, crew chiefs and aircraft maintainers.
The Black Hawk helicopter’s principal mission is air movement whereas the Lakota aircraft is used primarily for reconnaissance and surveillance.
The N.D. National Guard has been supporting security operations at the southwest border since 2012.
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The North Dakota National Guard is a trained and highly motivated force of about 4,000 Citizen-Soldiers and Citizen-Airmen. We are always prepared to provide ready units, individuals and equipment in support of our communities, state and nation. Always ready, always there.
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