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.

Retired Col. Everton E. Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief of Staff, and Lt. Col. Emily Huffman, the State Military Reservation commander, recognized DMA state employees and thanked them for their service during a luncheon June 16, 2025, at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Approximately 20 Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division participated in exercise Karelian Sword, a large-scale, multi-national military exercise, May 23 - 30, 2025, in the Kymenlaakso region of Finland. 

Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy graduated 30 cadets from Class 62 June 14, 2025, at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Five Virginia National Guard members conducted a staff officer exchange with members of the Tajikistan Armed Forces June 9 - 13, 2025, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The engagement was conducted in support of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, in which Virginia and Tajikistan have been formal partners since 2003.

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.

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the Fort Pickett-based 34th Civil Support Team joined other CSTs and emergency response organizations for Exercise ORCA 25 June 9-13, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. 

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.