The Virginia National Guard's Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group conducted a departure ceremony March 23, 2010, at the Sands Armory in Virginia Beach to mark the official start of the unit's federal active-duty service. Maj. Gen. Robert. B. Newman, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, announced Jan. 12, 2010, that approximately 80 Soldiers from the battalion were scheduled to enter federal active service for duty in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Photo by Maj. Cotton Puryear, Virginia Guard Public Affairs)