Virginia National Guard senior enlisted leadership traveled to Finland Aug. 19- 23, 2024, to collaborate with members of the Finnish Defence Forces on a plan for joint enlisted training and exercise and development for 2025 to 2027.

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.

Approximately 40 Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group returned to the United States Nov. 19, 2024, after serving federal active duty in Poland since January 2024.

After two months of intense work, Virginia National Guard Soldiers officially re-opened the Virginia Army National Guard’s Central Issue Facility during a ceremony Nov. 15, 2024, at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. 

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen honored the service and sacrifice of men and women of the Armed Forces Nov. 11, 2024, at ceremonies across the Virginia in honor of Veterans Day.

The Virginia National Guard’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute will host Pre-Officer Candidate School at Fort Barfoot for Soldiers interested in attending Traditional Officer Candidate School at Fort Barfoot or Summer Accelerated Commissioning Course at Fort McClellan, Alabama. 

The Virginia National Guard’s S. Gardner Waller Depot in Richmond, Virginia, has been selected as the site for the future Museum of the Virginia National Guard according to an announcement made Nov. 13, 2024, by Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia.

As a first-generation American and the first in her family to attend college, Spc. Mariel Gomez has broken new ground with every step she’s taken. She was born in California, to newly-immigrated parents, and spent a few impactful years with her grandparents in El Salvador before moving with her family to Virginia where she routinely served as a translator and helped her family bridge the gap between their Salvadoran heritage and their new American life. Today, she holds an undergraduate degree in sustainable biomaterials from Virginia Tech and is completing a master's program in chemical engineering at North Carolina State University. Additionally, one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer, she serves in the Virginia Army National Guard’s Powhatan-based 180th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group as a 12K, a plumber.

In another historic moment for one Virginia National Guard family, Col. Juanita Rohler took command of the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group from Col. Dennis Rohler, her husband, Nov. 2, 2024, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. The 329th also welcomed a new senior enlisted leader when Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph R. Viera accepted responsibility from Command Sgt. Maj. Brian H. Coleman.

For the third consecutive year, snipers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team traveled to Finland to compete against their international peers at the HÄYHÄ 2024 Sniper Shooting Championship. Three Red Dragon snipers - Staff Sgt. Joshua Johnson, Sgt. James O’Connell and Spc. Jonathan Farrar - competed Sept. 20-22, 2024, at a training site near Imatra, Finland.

Col. Gerald Mazur took command of the Virginia National Guard’s Fort Belvoir-based 91st Cyber Brigade from Brig. Gen. Rusty McGuire during a ceremony Oct. 26, 2024, at Fort Walker, Virginia. 

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the Fort Barfoot-based 34th Civil Support Team joined first responders from across the region for a mass casualty incident response course exercise Oct. 19, 2024, at Central High School in Victoria, Virginia.