The long history of the 133rd Test Squadron will be celebrated during a March 2 ceremony marking its closure.

The ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. at the squadron’s facility at 1649 Nelson Ave., immediately south of the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.

The ceremony will officially close the unit, according to an announcement from the Iowa National Guard.

The unit is being shut down after more than 75 years of service as a result of a reorganization ordered by U.S. Air Force leaders in 2023.

“The mission set of the 133rd was removed as a result of those realignments,” Jackie Schmillen, the public affairs director for Iowa National Guard, previously told The Messenger.

The squadron had two missions. Testing electronics, radios, radars and similar systems for the Air Force was one of them. Tracking and directing military aircraft was the other.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the squadron devised a way to eliminate gaps in the nation’s radar coverage using off-the-shelf electronics.

In September 2023, it celebrated its 75th anniversary with an open house and ceremony in Fort Dodge.

But in December of that year, the National Guard announced that the unit would be relocated and given a new mission. Then in May 2024 it was announced that the squadron would likely be shut down entirely.

The squadron had an authorized strength of 118 members. Over the last year the roster dwindled to the current 41 members.

The majority of them will be transferring to the 132nd Air Wing in Des Moines, with some others going to the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City.

The squadron’s vehicles and equipment will be sent wherever needed in the military.

The future of the squadron’s building remains to be determined.

The unit was established in June 1948 as the 133rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. It was first based at the former Enos Airport on the east side of Fort Dodge.

Over the years, squadron members have tracked suspected drug smuggling aircraft and directed air-to-air refueling operations in support of NATO bombing missions in Bosnia. They also worked in the desert of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to refine the way in which radar pictures are shared between air and ground forces. The squadron’s work there makes it possible for targets to be identified and taken out in less than 30 minutes.