07.25.25

Hoeven: 119th Wing in the Fight Every Day, Need New $33 Million Headquarters to Better Support Operations

Facility Will Bring Happy Hooligan Leadership, Support and Training Personnel Under Single Roof, Strengthening Reaper & RTS Operations

FARGO, N.D.- Senator John Hoeven today announced efforts to build a new $33 million headquarters for the North Dakota Air National Guard’s (NDANG) 119th Wing in Fargo:

  • The new facility will provide nearly 22,400 sq. ft. of space to consolidate the 119th Wing’s leadership, support and training personnel under a single roof.
    • A replacement is needed for the existing, 66-year-old headquarters, as it lacks adequate space to house the various aspects of the 119th Wing’s missions.
    • This results in operational inefficiencies and imposes high maintenance costs on the unit, which must maintain multiple outdated facilities.
  • As a member of the Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Committee, Hoeven secured an initial $2 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 for planning and design of the new headquarters.
    • The Wing expects to award the design contract in the coming weeks, with a proposed floorplan to be ready by May 2026.
    • Once the floorplan is approved, the final location of the building will be identified.
  • The facility will be purpose-built to support the range of missions and operations undertaken by the 119th Wing, including the Regional Training Site (RTS).
    • The RTS provides specialized training programs like Rapid Airfield Damage Repair to active-duty and Guard units from across the country.
    • This is one of only four RTS operated by the Air Guard in the nation, and the only Air Force RTS in the Upper Midwest region, with the next closest site being in Arkansas.

“The Happy Hooligans have a record of pure excellence, and are one of the best units in the Air National Guard. Moreover, they are in the fight globally every single day supporting our military, special forces and intelligence agencies, and they deserve facilities that more effectively support the important missions they carry out for our nation. This new $33 million headquarters will do just that by enabling them to consolidate a range of offices, staff and operations into a single, updated and purpose-built facility, rather than maintaining multiple out-of-date structures,” said Hoeven. “This aligns with our ongoing work to not only enhance the Reaper mission flown by the Happy Hooligans, but also support the specialized training they offer to military units from across the country through their Regional Training Site, the only site of its kind in the entire Upper Midwest.”

The new headquarters comes as the latest in Hoeven’s work to strengthen the missions and operations of the 119th Wing. This includes:

  • The $17.5 million state-of-the-art operations center that Hoeven previously worked to fund.
    • The 119th Wing’s MQ-9 Reaper mission began moving into the new center in 2023, and the facility is anticipated to be fully operational later this year.
  • Securing funding to upgrade the Reaper mission from the Block 1 to the Block 5 aircraft.
    • Currently, the Happy Hooligans operate four Block 5 MQ-9 Reapers, one of which has been permanently assigned to the Wing.
    • The Air Force plans for three additional Block 5s to have a permanent home at the Wing in the future.
  • Securing $10 million in FY25 funding to create a data center in the former MQ-9 ops facility to support the Test Resource Management Center’s (TRMC) Sky Range hypersonic missile testing program.
    • Sky Range is an innovative method for gathering information from hypersonic missile tests using refurbished Global Hawks and MQ-9s.

 

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