The Virginia National Guard’s change of command ceremony scheduled for June 3, 2023, will feature an F-22 Raptor flyover and blank-fire artillery salute, and residents of the Bellwood area of Chesterfield County surrounding Defense Supply Center Richmond should expect brief periods of loud noise during the Saturday morning ceremony and the Friday afternoon rehearsal.

Helping grow the Virginia Army National Guard recently became an even more lucrative endeavor with the expansion of the ARNG’s Stripes for Buddies program and the announcement of a new Army Recruiting Ribbon. When paired with the VNG’s Referral Enlistment Program, or REP, getting a buddy to enlist could equate to a $1,000 bonus, a promotion up to the rank of specialist or promotion points for sergeants and staff sergeants, and the award of the Army Recruiting Ribbon.

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force celebrated, honored and remembered the men and women of the U.S. armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country May 29, 2023, at multiple Memorial Day ceremonies across the state.

If you ask Staff Sgt. Catherine So how to accomplish a goal, she’ll tell you to start small. So, an 88M Motor Transport Operator by military occupational specialty, is now part of the Virginia National Guard’s Holistic Health and Fitness, or H2F, team. Big fitness goals, she said, are best tackled when they’re bite-sized.

The Virginia National Guard’s change of command ceremony scheduled for June 3, 2023, will feature an F-22 Raptor flyover and blank-fire artillery salute, and residents of the Bellwood area of Chesterfield County surrounding Defense Supply Center Richmond should expect brief periods of loud noise during the Saturday morning ceremony and the Friday afternoon rehearsal.

The Virginia National Guard’s Marksmanship Training Unit tested the skills of nearly 90 shooters during the Adjutant General’s Marksmanship Match, a three-day combined arms match held May 19-21, 2023, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. The Virginia National Guard’s annual marksmanship match brought together Soldiers and Airmen from across the state to test their skills on both rifle and pistol. The shooters were challenged with matches that required them to engage targets with both rifle and pistol from a variety of firing positions and distances.

The Virginia National Guard’s Staff Sgt. Dan Abbott and the West Virginia National Guard’s Spc. Bret Williams took top honors after the five-day Army National Guard Region II Best Warrior Competition May 15-19, 2023, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group conducted logistics and military decision making process exchanges with the Republic of Tajikistan May 8-12, 2023, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and retired Brig. Gen. Walt Mercer, Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief Operations Officer, presented awards to DMA employees as part of a state employee recognition luncheon May 11, 2023, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. 

More than 30 chaplains and religious affairs specialists from the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard and Virginia Defense Force participated in a one-day Joint Chaplain Annual Sustainment Training May 6, 2023, at the Virginia National Guard’s Sergeant Bob Slaughter Headquarters at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia.

The Virginia Army National Guard’s Warrant Officer Candidate School celebrated and recognized the graduation of six warrant officer candidates from Class 23-001 in a ceremony held May 6, 2023, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. The class of newly-promoted warrant officers included Soldiers from both the Virginia and North Carolina Army National Guard, as well as the U.S. Army Reserve. 

The Virginia National Guard’s Chesterfield-based Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 2-245th Aviation Regiment was recently named the Army National Guard East Region Unit of the Year for Fiscal Year 2022 according to an announcement by the Joint Operational Support Airlift Center.