As the sun rose on the northern coast of France June 6, 2025, a group of 30 U.S. National Guard Soldiers, all assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, organized themselves into a neat formation. The tide was in and, as the Atlantic Ocean lapped against Omaha Beach, a crowd gathered around the Soldiers. The onlookers had come from all over, traveling from nearby French villages and towns, neighboring European nations and, of course, the United States. Everyone there that morning - from the most junior Soldier standing in formation, to the oldest reenactor on the beach - was there to pay tribute to the men who stormed Normandy’s beaches on D-Day.

The Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will be the first Army National Guard brigade to test and evaluate the approved task organization for a mobile brigade combat team during their 21-day eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation in June 2025 at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.

Col. Seung Lee, Virginia Army National Guard state chaplain, and Maj. Will Cochrane, the VNG deputy full-time support chaplain, presented certificates of appreciation and state chaplain coins to six members of the Virginia Defense Force Chaplain Corps June 7, 2025, at Waller Depot in Richmond, Virginia. These certificates were presented to VDF chaplains and religious affairs specialists in recognition of their willingness to conduct weekly chapel services at Fort Barfoot’s Bulla Chapel during the 2024 annual training season.

The Virginia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion hosted its second annual Civic Leader Appreciation Day June 6, 2025, at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Sandston, Virginia. Approximately 100 teachers, school administrators, and support staff attended the event, where they met senior leaders of the Virginia National Guard, learned information about the organization and opportunities available to their students, and had the opportunity to experience a flight in a Black Hawk helicopter, courtesy of the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Battalion.

As the sun rose on the northern coast of France June 6, 2025, a group of 30 U.S. National Guard Soldiers, all assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, organized themselves into a neat formation. The tide was in and, as the Atlantic Ocean lapped against Omaha Beach, a crowd gathered around the Soldiers. The onlookers had come from all over, traveling from nearby French villages and towns, neighboring European nations and, of course, the United States. Everyone there that morning - from the most junior Soldier standing in formation, to the oldest reenactor on the beach - was there to pay tribute to the men who stormed Normandy’s beaches on D-Day.

Virginia National Guard senior leaders and Soldiers participated in the 81st D-Day Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony June 6, 2025, at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, on the anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy during World War II.

By order of the Secretary of Defense, the Virginia National Guard’s Fort Barfoot military installation near Blackstone, Virginia, has been renamed as Fort Pickett, effective June 11, 2025, to honor 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett for his extraordinary heroism during World War II.

Col. Beau Mason, Virginia National Guard construction and facilities management officer, Lt. Col. Eric Quinn, Fort Barfoot garrison commander, and retired Col. Everton E. Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief of Staff, presented awards to DMA workers as part of a state employee recognition luncheon May 22, 2025, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.

The Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will be the first Army National Guard brigade to test and evaluate the approved task organization for a mobile brigade combat team during their 21-day eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation in June 2025 at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.

Brig. Gen. Christopher J. Samulski has been selected to succeed Maj. Gen. Joseph A. DiNonno  as the commanding general of the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division, according to an announcement made June 3, 2025, by Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia.

Four Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard Endurance Team competed in the All-Guard Marathon Trials May 4, 2025, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the Lincoln Marathon, for an opportunity to earn a spot on the All-Guard Competition Team.  

Approximately 150 Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Hanover-based 229th Military Police Company mark the start of their federal active duty mobilization to the U.S. Central Command area of operations with a departure ceremony May 28, 2025, in Richmond, Virginia.