FARGO, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – At the North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) Roughrider Conference, Senator John Hoeven discussed efforts to ensure the state’s Guard members have the training, equipment and facilities needed to succeed in their missions. As a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, Hoeven has worked to:

• Strengthen NDNG operations, including:
  • By bringing the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) event to Camp Grafton.
    • This event, a partnership between the Department of War and the NDNG, will test and evaluate counter-UAS technology during the last two weeks of August, with additional events to follow.
    • Hoeven made the case to the Pentagon for leveraging North Dakota’s technology ecosystem for the T-REX event.
    • T-REX aligns with the more than $100 million that Hoeven secured in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 for the Grand Forks region’s high-tech aerospace ecosystem.
  • The 119th Wing’s MQ-9 mission at Hector Field in Fargo.
  • The Regional Training Institute (RTI) at Camp Grafton.
    • This goes hand-in-hand with the Line of Communications Bridge (LOC-B) Training Site that Hoeven worked to establish and fund at Camp Grafton.
    • Hoeven secured $9 million for the site, which will be the first of its kind in the nation serving National Guard members and is set to open this summer.
• Advance construction of new facilities to support Guard missions based in Jamestown, Fargo and Dickinson.
• Enhance the benefits available to Guard members.
  • To this end, Hoeven is sponsoring the Air Guard STATUS Act to establish a permanent federal tuition assistance (FTA) program for Air Guard members, similar to the program available to the Army National Guard.
  • Hoeven began this effort in 2019, having established a pilot FTA program for Air Guard members and securing a total of $20 million for the effort.
  • Doing so will help ensure the Air Guard can continue to recruit the best and brightest for the increasingly high-tech missions it takes on.

“North Dakota has the finest National Guard in the U.S., and they are in the fight every day. We’re working to support their continued success in the wide range of missions they take on, both at home and abroad,” said Hoeven “Importantly, by advancing the next generation of the MQ-9 Reaper, we are working to secure the future of Air Guard operations in Fargo. The 119th Wing supports military missions around the globe, and they need an aircraft that can meet their future operational requirements. At the same time, we continue to invest in the training provided at Camp Grafton, which not only supports our Guard members and law enforcement, but with the T-REX event being held in August, it also has a growing role in our UAS ecosystem. These are some of the exciting ways we are working to expand, diversify and strengthen the operations of the NDNG.”

Specifically, Hoeven has worked in recent years to advance the following priorities benefitting Guard operations across the state:

• 119th Wing MQ-9 Mission in Fargo – The senator included a measure in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to advance the development of the next generation of the MQ-9, with the goal of producing an aircraft with enhanced capabilities that can operate at a comparable scale.
  • Hoeven also continues working to secure construction funding for a new Consolidated Readiness Support Facility for the 119th Wing, having previously funded the project’s planning and design.
• Camp Grafton Line of Communications Bridge (LOC-B) Training Site – Hoeven passed legislation and secured $9 million to establish the site.
  • This will be the only facility of its kind providing LOC-B training to Guard members.
  • Construction of the site began in 2024, and it will open and begin hosting training activities this summer.
• Camp Grafton Lodging – The senator passed legislation as part of the FY2026 funding bill to ensure the National Guard addresses lodging needs for Camp Grafton’s Regional Training Institute (RTI).
  • Camp Grafton hosts a wide range of training programs for both the Guard and law enforcement.
  • Hoeven’s legislation directs the Guard to allocate funding to address such needs at training and readiness sites.
• Jamestown Readiness Center – Hoeven has secured $2.3 million through annual funding legislation to advance a new Readiness Center in Jamestown.