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Air Guard Units Redesignated, Activated

  • Published
  • By Capt. Dan Murphy
  • North Dakota National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs
FARGO, N.D. --  The men and women of the North Dakota Air National Guard who will lead the transition from manned aircraft to an intelligence group accepted the flags representing the new units during a ceremony today at the Fargo base.

"The members of the North Dakota Air National Guard have weathered numerous changes in the past," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general. "This may be one of the biggest cultural changes, as the Airmen transition from a manned flying mission to an intelligence mission, but it's one I know they will again successfully undertake and excel in."

Today's traditional ceremony is steeped in military history dating to the 18th century reign of King Frederick the Great of Prussia. At that time, organizational flags were first used to represent individual military units by incorporating unique colors and symbols. As commanders changed, the flags were passed from the outgoing commander to the incoming commander in a ceremony in front of the unit's soldiers. In the same way, the flags are ceremoniously cased or unfurled to designate the unit's deactivation or activation. The symbolic tradition has survived throughout military history.

In today's ceremony, Lt. Col. Nathan Erstad, of Fargo, furled the flag for the 119th Maintenance Group as that unit's service ended. Lt. Col. Darrin Anderson, of West Fargo, N.D., then unfurled the flag for the new 119th Intelligence Group, which he will soon command.

Three squadrons will fall within the new group: the 177th Intelligence Squadron, 176th Intelligence Squadron and 119th Intelligence Support Squadron. Each squadron commander accepted their respective flags during today's ceremony in front of hundreds of North Dakota Airmen standing in formation at the Guard's main hangar in Fargo. Maj. Michaela Brancato, of Detroit Lakes, Minn., will command the 177th, Lt. Col. Teresa Luthi McDonough, of Moorhead, Minn., will lead the 176th, and Lt. Col. Greg McDonald, of Fargo, will lead the 119th.

Training for the intelligence mission is expected to take one to three years yet for the new group, which is being established to exploit intelligence to perform target system analysis and target development.

The ceremony also marked the inactivation of the 177th Airlift Squadron, which piloted C-21 Learjets. Lt. Col. Jerrad Krapp, of Dilworth, Minn., furled the Airlift Squadron's flag, marking the official end of the unit.

Late last month, the North Dakota Air National Guard's last C-21 departed the base, ending 66 years of manned flying missions. The state was selected for the new intelligence mission earlier this year after the U.S. Air Force decided to divest the C-27J Spartan, which the unit known as the Happy Hooligans had expected to be the next mission.