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 Mobile 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 Mobile 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. 


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

Maj. Paul Marcinko and Sgt. Maj. Lawrence McGrogan case the colors of the Portsmouth-based 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team, during the squadron’s inactivation ceremony Aug. 13, 2026, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The casing of the colors marked the formal conclusion of the squadron’s service as generations of troopers gathered to honor its history, traditions and esprit de corps. The squadron’s inactivation is part of the ongoing Army Transformation Initiative. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)
2-183rd Cavalry cases colors after more than two decades of service
Aug. 21, 2026
More than 20 years after they were first unfurled, the colors of 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team were cased in a ceremony held Aug. 13, 2026, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The ceremony marked the inactivation of the unit, which traces its lineage back through more than two centuries of Virginia military service.
Gen. Steven Nordhaus, the 20th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, administers the oath of enlistment to current and incoming Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen during a ceremony before the NASCAR Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway Aug. 15, 2026, in Henrico, Virginia. Prior to the enlistment and reenlistment ceremonies, Nordhaus and Command Sgt. Maj. James B. Kendrick, the 14th Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard, plus Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Chief Master Sgt. John F. Nye, the Virginia National Guard’s senior enlisted leader, visited with Virginia Army and Air National Guard recruiters set up at the track. Nordhaus rode in the official pace car at the start of the race, and the Troutville-based 29th Infantry Division Band performed the national anthem.
Nordhaus visits VNG, leads enlistment, reenlistment oaths
Aug. 19, 2026
Gen. Steven Nordhaus, the 30th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited Virginia National Guard facilities and administered the oath of enlistment to new and current VNG Soldiers and Airmen during a visit Aug. 15, 2026, to the Richmond, Virginia, area. 
Lt. Col. Joshua L. Favaro and Command Sgt. Maj. Donald W. Spring Jr., command team for the Fredericksburg-based 229th Brigade Engineer Battalion, case the unit’s colors signifying the battalion’s deactivation Aug. 8, 2026, at the Mason-Ruhren Readiness Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Col. Art Moore, commander of the Staunton-based 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team, presided over the ceremony, which featured remarks from multiple former Endurance Battalion unit leaders. The 229th BEB’s deactivation is part of the 116th’s transformation from an infantry brigade combat team to a MBCT, part of the Army’s Transformation in Contact 2.0 modernization strategy.
229th BEB cases colors, leaves legacy of engineering excellence
Aug. 13, 2026
After more than 40 years in existence, the Fredericksburg-based 229th Brigade Engineer Battalion cased its colors Aug. 8, 2026, during a deactivation ceremony at the Mason-Ruhren Readiness Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. 
Virginia National Guard logo
Ring announces new senior leader assignments 
Aug. 13, 2026
Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, announced new Virginia National Guard senior leader assignments in an announcement Aug. 12, 2026, in Richmond, Virginia. 
Brig. Gen. Dennis Rohler takes the reins as the Virginia National Guard’s Land Component Commander from Brig. Gen. Charles Martin Jr. during a ceremony July 11, 2026, at the VNG Sergeant John Slaughter Headquarters at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, presided over the ceremony and the exchange of organizational colors signifying the transfer of command from Martin, who is retiring after 32 years of VNG service, to Rohler. The 29th Infantry Division band provided ceremonial music for the event.
Rohler promoted, takes command of Virginia Army National Guard 
July 13, 2026
Brig. Gen. Dennis Rohler took the reins as the Virginia National Guard’s Land Component Commander during a ceremony July 11, 2026, at the VNG Sergeant John Slaughter Headquarters at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia.

29th ID Organization

Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division

Fort Belvoir-based Headquarters Battalion, 29th Infantry Division

  • 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

  • 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 Mobile Brigade Combat Team