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

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 will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion of the Roanoke Regional Readiness Center Aug. 2, 2025, in Troutville, Virginia.

Approximately 40 Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Cedar Bluff-based 1033rd Engineer Support Company constructed two parking areas, a walking trail and installed a split-rail fence during their annual training July 12-25, 2025, at the Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park in Middletown, Virginia.

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Petersburg-based 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group conducted a Plus One Day with their loved ones July 18, 2025, at Fort Pickett, Virginia, during the unit’s annual training. 

The Virginia National Guard’s Hanover-based 229th Military Police Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group took responsibility for a U.S. Central Command customs operations mission during a transfer of authority ceremony July 6, 2025, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. 

Seven Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen participated in U.S. Central Command’s annual Regional Cooperation exercise June 15-27, 2025, at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts.

A groundbreaking effort to unify medical, spiritual, and behavioral care in the Virginia National Guard took shape June 25, 2025, at Fort Pickett, Virginia, as Soldiers across the three disciplines gathered for an integrated training event focused on improving how they work together to serve the force.

When Will Hart raised his right hand to enlist into the Virginia Army National Guard, it was his older brother, 2nd Lt. Luke Hart, who stood across from him and administered the oath of enlistment. For the Hart brothers, service in the Virginia Army National Guard is now a shared commitment.

Col. Arthur S. Moore took charge as the new commander of the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Col. Jared D. Lake June 24, 2025, at Fort Pickett, Virginia.

Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Command Master Sgt. John Nye, the Virginia National Guard Command Senior Enlisted Leader, conducted key leader engagements with senior Tajikistan officials June 23 and 24, 2025, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. 

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