North Dakota Guard unit might be going to DC later this year

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota Army National Guard unit based in North Dakota has been told it might be called to active duty later this year in Washington D.C., the Guard said Saturday.

The unit consists of about 70 soldiers and operates the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The Guard said in a release that their mission would be “transport of personnel and light cargo” within the nation’s capital.

North Dakota National Guard spokesman Bill Prokopyk said the possible mobilization is not related to protests over racial injustice. He said the unit was expecting the notice and “deem it routine support.”

Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general, said the Bismarck-based Company C, 2nd Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment has a safe operating record of nearly 150,000 flight hours dating back to 1958. He said some of their missions have involved floods, wildfires, search and rescue and overseas deployments to Kosovo and Iraq.