Fort Pickett

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.

While pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, Pickett crawled forward and destroyed two enemy positions with grenades. After being captured, he escaped from a transport train with fellow prisoners of war and rejoined his unit before being killed in action. For his heroic actions, Pickett received the Distinguished Service Cross.

The installation was redesignated March 24, 2023, to honor Col. Van T. Barfoot, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient with extensive Virginia ties.

Located near Blackstone, Fort Barfoot has more than 225 full-time state and federal employees provide support to tenant and training units on approximately 41,000 acres featuring a combination of open and wooded terrain maneuver areas and 21 ranges capable of supporting almost any weapons system in the U.S. Army inventory with barracks to support more than 5,000 personnel as well as an Army airfield operation.

Fort Pickett News

Virginia National Guard military installation renamed to honor World War II hero

June 10, 2025

Col. Beau Mason, Virginia National Guard construction and facilities management officer, Lt. Col. Eric Quinn, Fort Barfoot garrison commander, and retired Col. Everton E. Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief of Staff, present awards to DMA workers as part of a state employee recognition luncheon May 22, 2025, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. During the presentation, DMA employees were recognized for both agency-level accomplishments as well as for service anniversaries. Quinn and Nevers gave remarks during the event, thanking the installation’s state workers for their hard work supporting the VNG and other organizations training at the installation. (U.S. National Guard photo by A.J. Coyne)

DMA Employees at Fort Barfoot recognized during appreciation luncheon

June 10, 2025

Col. Beau Mason, Virginia National Guard construction and facilities management officer, Lt. Col. Eric Quinn, Fort Barfoot garrison commander, and retired Col. Everton E. Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief of Staff, presented awards to DMA workers as part of a state employee recognition luncheon May 22, 2025, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Bedford-based Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conduct a movement to contact situational training lane June 9, 2025, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. The 116th is the first Army National Guard brigade to test a prototype task organization for a mobile brigade combat team, and it will be evaluated during a 21-day eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation. The MBCT concept is part of the U.S. Army’s transformation initiative with the goal of making units more agile and lethal.

116th IBCT to field test new mobile brigade combat team organization

June 9, 2025

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

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen compete in the Virginia National Guard’s annual marksmanship match, hosted May 16-18, 2025, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. Dozens of shooters participated in the event, which was hosted by the Marksmanship Training Unit, part of the Fort Barfoot-based 3rd Battalion, 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute. Over the course of three days, shooters engaged targets from a variety of distances and shooting positions, firing rifles and pistols.

VNG hosts combined arms marksmanship match

May 27, 2025

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team took top honors at the 2025 Virginia National Guard Adjutant General’s Marksmanship Match, held May 16 - 18, 2025, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.