29th Infantry Division

Known as the Blue and Gray Division, the 29th Infantry Division is an Army National Guard operational-level headquarters located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Its origins date back to World War I and is most known for its participation in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach in World War II. The 29th ID wartime mission is to provide mission command to subordinate brigades and forces tailored for an assigned mission. It is one of eight divisions in the Army National Guard.

The Virginia Army National Guard's 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment and the 29th Infantry Division Band are aligned under the 29th.

The 29th Infantry Division exercises training and readiness oversight over the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Florida and Alabama, the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Kentucky and Virginia, the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team from North Carolina and West Virginia, the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade from Maryland and Virginia, the 226th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade from Alabama, the 113th Sustainment Brigade from North Carolina and the 142nd Fires Brigade from Arkansas.

The Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division Headquarters returned to the United States in March 2022 after a 9-month deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility as the headquarters of Task Force Spartan, which exercises command and control of Operation Spartan Shield. Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component, total Army organization, made up of active Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve support units and is led by a National Guard division headquarters on a rotational basis. 

In its role as Task Force Spartan, the 29th ID commanded two brigades and four battalion-level task forces. Units supporting Operation Spartan Shield provide capabilities such as aviation, logistics, force protection and information management. They also facilitated theater security cooperation activities such as key leader engagements, joint exercises, conferences, symposia, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response planning. Read more about the 29th’s mobilization at https://go.usa.gov/xzw3F. 

Visit the 29th Infantry Division on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/29thID/


2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
 
The Virginia National Guard's Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, mobilized as Task Force Pegasus, officially ended its mission in Kosovo during a transfer of authority ceremony Oct. 11, 2022, at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo.

During Task Force Pegasus’ rotation, over 1,700 flight hours and 275 aerial missions were completed, five multinational multi-ship flights, and 14 MedEvac missions, two of which required the use of a hoist and countless hours of training. Read more about Task Force Pegasus at https://ngpa.us/22186. 

More 2-224th news: https://ngpa.us/23176 

29th Division Band

The 29th ID Band received the Superior Unit Award for training excellence during Training Year 2019. 

More 29th Division Band news: https://ngpa.us/23177

29th ID News

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and their family members enjoy a Building Strong and Ready Teams training June 21-23, 2024, in Williamsburg, Virginia. This event was conducted for Soldiers and family members of the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division headquarters and the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. BSRT is a command-directed, chaplain-led, community-partnered effort that strengthens spiritual readiness for Soldiers of all ranks and their families. The goal of the program is to enrich Soldiers’ marriages in order to build strong and ready teams.
BSRT event reconnects military couples
July 16, 2024
The Virginia Army National Guard Chaplain Corps conducted a Building Strong and Ready Teams training June 21-23, 2024, in Williamsburg, Virginia. This event was conducted for Soldiers and family members of the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division headquarters and the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Troutville-based 29th Infantry Division Band conducted a unique and historic annual training in June 2024, helping commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, both here in the United States as well as in Normandy, France.
29th ID Band commemorates D-Day anniversary at home, abroad
July 4, 2024
Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Troutville-based 29th Infantry Division Band conducted a unique and historic annual training in June 2024, helping commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, both here in the United States as well as in Normandy, France.
The Virginia National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment hosts an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Boss Lift for more than 50 civilian employers June 15, 2024, near Richmond International Airport in Sandston, Virginia. The event provided employers with a first-hand look at what their employees experience during their drill weekends and annual training periods, and included flights around the Richmond area on board UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Col. Paul Gravely, chief of staff for the Virginia Army National Guard, and Lt. Col. Ryan Strait, the battalion’s commander, provided remarks at the start of event and thanked the employers for their continued support. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)
VNG aviation battalion hosts ESGR Boss Lift
July 1, 2024
More than 50 civilian employers joined their employees for an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Boss Lift, hosted by the Virginia National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment June 15, 2024, at their Army Aviation Support Facility near Richmond International Airport in Sandston, Virginia. The event aimed to thank employers for their support while providing them a first-hand look at what their employees experience when in a military duty status. The experience included orientation flights on board the battalion’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, as well as static displays that included weapon systems and various pieces of commonly used equipment. 
U.S. Army Soldiers from the 43rd Multi-Role Bridge Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade conduct a Wet Gap Crossing on May 11, 2024, at the Drawsko Combat Training Center, Poland, in support of Immediate Response 24.
29th Infantry Division leads multinational wet gap crossing in Poland
June 20, 2024
Polish, British and United States military forces came together for a wet gap crossing under the command and control of the Virginia National Guard’s Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division May 8, 2024, at the Drawsko Combat Training Center in Poland as part of U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s DEFENDER 24 exercise. The exercise, tied closely to NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercise, brought together nearly 40,000 service members from over 20 partner nations to train, test and validate the alliance’s ability to field and command a combat credible force in the European theater.
Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Dinonno, commander of the 29th Infantry Division, lays a wreath along with a French dignitary at the National Guard Monument situated above Omaha Beach in Vierville-sur-Mer, France, June 2, 2024. This monument sits at the spot where National Guard Soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division broke through German defenses on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Commemorative events such as these serve to honor the sacrifices U.S. service members made 80 years ago in securing peace and security, and inspiring future generations to value a collective vision of global peace.
80th anniversary of D-Day observed abroad, at home
June 13, 2024
Virginia National Guard Soldiers paid tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of the U.S. and Allied Forces who participated in the June 1944 invasion of Normandy and commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day at multiple events on and around June 6, 2024, in France, Virginia and Louisiana.

The Shield Newsletter

29th ID Organization

Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division
https://www.facebook.com/29thID/
https://twitter.com/29thID

Fort Belvoir-based Headquarters Battalion, 29th Infantry Division
https://www.facebook.com/HHBN29ID

  • Fort Belvoir-based Headquarters and Support Company
  • Fort Belvoir-based Operations Company
  • Cheltenham, Md.- based Signal Company (Maryland National Guard)
  • Laurel, Md.- Intelligence and Sustainment Company (Maryland National Guard)
  • Troutville-based 29th Division Band

Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
 https://www.facebook.com/2ndBattalion224thAviation/

  • Sandston-based Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
  • Sandston-based Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
  • Sandston-based Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
  • Sandston-based Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment
  • Chesterfield-based Detachment 2, Company C, 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment
  • Chesterfield-based Detachment 1, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment
  • Sandston-based Detachment 2, Bravo Company, 248th Aviation Support Battalion
  • Chesterfield-based Detachment 1, Company C, 2-245th Aviation Regiment 
Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team