The Iowa National Guard has set this Sunday at 2 p.m. as the date for the formal ceremony marking the shutdown of the 133rd Test Squadron in Fort Dodge.
Iowa Guard spokesperson Jackie Schmilllen says they learned in May of last year that the squadron was going to be shut down as part of a national restructuring. Some members have already left the unit. “There are 38 part time, or what we would consider, like our traditional service members with the Iowa National Guard, and three full time. They are authorized to have 118 and when the news came down about this divestment happening, they had just over 100,” she says.
Schmilllen says many guard members moved to other units. “Every full time person was offered a full time position within the Iowa Air National Guard. We’re happy to say a bulk of them are staying here in Iowa and going to either the 132nd air wing in Des Moines or the 185th refueling wing in Sioux City,” Schmilllen says.
Schmilllen says the ceremony will celebrate the more than 75 years of the unit in Fort Dodge “We can understand why this can be a somber moment for not only those that are currently serving with that unit, but those that have and plan on coming back for the ceremony on Sunday,” she says. “But we do want to remember the successes and the innovation of this unit when it was stood up over 75 years ago, and what they’ve been able to contribute, not only to the community but to the Iowa Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force.”
There will still be 107 soldiers in Fort Dodge who are members of the 1st Battalion 194th Field Artillery. “So we are not leaving completely. We will still have a unit there, very proudly honoring that community and a part of what they do if we’re ever needed,” she says.
The unit’s base is located across from the sports complex where the Girl’s State Softball Tournament is held. Information on the unit’s website says it was founded on June 1st of 1948 as the 133rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. It says they have been the Air National Guard’s only Test Squadron for the past 21 years, performing operational and developmental testing of command-and-control equipment for the U.S. Air Force and its components.