FROM THE ADJUTANT GENERAL

Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general, visits the South West COVID-19 response team, comprised of Soldiers and local public healthcare workers, in Dickinson, North Dakota, April 28, 2021.

To the Citizens of North Dakota, It is my pleasure to present the 2021 Office of the Adjutant General annual report. It was a busy and rewarding year for our agency. It has been almost 20 years since the National Guard transitioned from a strategic reserve to an operational force that our state and nation rely upon every day for missions at home and overseas. We deployed over 400 Guard members this year to support federal missions in Southwest Asia and in our nation’s capital. Additionally, in January 2021, we sent 130 Military Police (MP) Soldiers and about 20 members of the 81st Civil Support Team (CST) to Washington D.C. in the support of the 59th Presidential Inauguration. We also prepared Soldiers for duty at our southwest border. At home, both the North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) and the Department of Emergency Services (DES) supported and led our “Whole-of-Government” approach to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2021, the Guard logged over 130,000 personnel days of support to state agencies and local public health, and DES wrapped up 114 days of support to the Unified Command and successfully transferred responsibility for the pandemic response to the Department of Health.

The entire agency was also called upon to fight last year’s wildland fires. DES worked collaboratively with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure we protected both lives and livelihoods during a very busy fire season. The quick action of the NDNG aviation helped save the town of Medora using our Black Hawk helicopters, and also preserve federal, tribal, state, and private land throughout western North Dakota. For the first time in memory, we trained and deployed ground firefighters to support the North Dakota Forest Service.

In doing this life and property-saving work, we continue to be a costeffective solution for both routine and complex emergencies. For the federal fiscal year 2021 (FY21), the NDNG injected over $315M in economic impact across the state at a cost of just over $20M in State General Funds.

DES provides an even greater value to our state and its citizens providing 24/7 emergency communication for our First Responders, the expertise to bring diverse groups together to execute whole of government, whole of society solutions to complex programs and mitigate the impact of natural disasters across the State. With less than 4% of its budget coming from State General Funds, it provided over $155M in services and programs for communities across the state.

To be “Always Ready, Always There”, we need facilities that provide the environment to maximize our limited training time. This past year we dedicated the 100% federally-funded, $29M Fargo Army National Guard Readiness Center. This 96,000 square-foot facility will significantly improve the training environment for our 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. We also broke ground on a new $17.5M federally funded operation center for the 119th Wing. This new, state-of-the-art operations center will help ensure we can provide uninterrupted support to combatant commanders around the globe.

I am extremely proud of our Citizen-Soldiers, Citizen-Airmen, and civilians of the NDNG and DES for their dedication to our citizens and to the protection of our homeland. We are lucky to have these dedicated professionals on our team who are committed to protecting lives and property every day. I am also appreciative of the support of our elected leaders, our citizens, our Guard employers, and our Guard families. They provide the support and resources needed to ensure our readiness today and into the future.

Major General Al Dohrmann The Adjutant General