Adjutant General
Brig General Mitchell Johnson was appointed Adjutant General of the North Dakota National Guard by Governor Doug Burgum in June 2024. As Adjutant General, Johnson commands nearly 4,100 North Dakota Air and Army National Guard men and women, with approximately 1,100 full-time federal and state employees, and oversees state and national missions. He also serves as Director of the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, which is comprised of the Division of Homeland Security and the Division of State Radio Communications.
Johnson most recently served as commander of the Fargo-based 119th Wing of the North Dakota Air National Guard from March 2021 to January 2024, where he led nearly 1,200 personnel whose missions include flying MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, providing intelligence and targeting, accomplishing expeditionary support functions, and ensuring missile field security at Minot Air Force Base. Johnson previously served as vice commander of the wing, nicknamed the “Happy Hooligans,” from August 2018 to March 2021 and in various other command and flying roles in Fargo, Florida, Oklahoma and Arkansas since 1998.
Johnson was commissioned in May 1997 through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at Michigan Tech University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and is a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and the Air War College. He has commanded at the wing, group and squadron levels and has flown tactical airlift, special operations attack and remotely piloted aircraft worldwide, accruing over 5,000 flight hours – in eight aircraft: T-37, C-12, C-130 E/H3, AC-130U, MQ-1, C-21, MQ-9 He has served overseas on six deployments and has more than 1,000 combat flight hours.
Johnson has received numerous awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal.
Agency Phone: (701) 333-2002