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29th Infantry Division prepare Afghan National Security Forces for the future
May 18, 2011 — Members of the 29th Infantry Division are assigned to duty as military advisors to key senior operational leaders within the Afghan National Security Forces...

Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters departs for federal active duty
May 17, 2011 — Family, friends and members of the Staunton community gathered May 15 for a farewell ceremony for the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters at the Shelburne Middle School gymnasium to officially mark the start of federal active duty for approximately 175 Soldiers. The unit will serve as a command and control headquarters for counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan. Before deploying to Afghanistan, the unit will report to Camp Shelby, Miss., to conduct training for approximately 45 to 60 days...

529th CSSB Soldiers honored at Norfolk Tides opener
April 21, 2011 — The Norfolk Tides honored the Soldiers of the Virginia Beach based- 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at the baseball team’s home opener April 17 at Harbor Park in Norfolk. Nearly 50 Soldiers and their family members were on hand for the game, which featured a 529th CSSB color guard and Maj. Matt Lutz, the 529th executive officer, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. In addition, dozens of photos from the unit’s recent deployment to Afghanistan were shown on the stadium video screen during the seventh inning stretch...

Virginia Guard Provincial Reconstruction Team Security Force holds departure ceremony for federal duty in Afghanistan
March 30, 2011 — A specially trained platoon of 42 Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers officially began their tour on federal active duty with a departure ceremony held March 28 in Sandston. The platoon will deploy to Afghanistan to serve as a Provincial Reconstruction Team Security Force...

529th CSSB returns to United States from Afghanistan duty
March 24, 2011 — Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers from the Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion returned to Virginia over the course of several days from March 21-24, 2011, after having served on federal active duty in Afghanistan since May 2010...

Staunton-based 116th BCT headquarters ordered to mobilize for active duty in Afghanistan
March 24, 2011 — The Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters has received a mobilization order to enter federal active duty in Afghanistan, according to an announcement made March 24, 2011 by Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia. Long said approximately 175 Soldiers will begin serving on federal active duty May 15 and will serve as a command and control headquarters for counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan...

Aviation battalion conducts send-off before deployment to Iraq
March 4, 2011 — The “Punishers” of the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment conducted a departure ceremony Feb. 25 at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Sandston to bid farewell to the mobilizing Soldiers and to mark the official start of the unit's federal active duty service in Iraq...

203rd RED HORSE holds memorial service for Airmen, Soldiers lost in airplane crash 10 years ago
March 4, 2011 — The Virginia Air National Guard's 203rd RED HORSE Squadron conducted a memorial service at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach March 3, 2011 to honor 18 unit members and three Florida Army Guard aviators who perished in a military transport crash 10 years ago...

ChalleNGe cadets complete initial “Hardcore” phase
February 8, 2011 — Candidates for the Virginia Commonwealth ChalleNGe Program transitioned to full cadet status Jan. 27 and were recognized in a ceremony at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach after completing the two weeks of the “Hardcore” phase. During the mentally and physically rigorous first phase that determines eligibility for the full 20-week program, candidates tackled the obstacle course, rappel tower and leader reaction course at Fort A. P. Hill. After traversing 30-foot high obstacles and low crawling through the dirt, more than 120 candidates proved their mental toughness and ability to work as a team and earned a spot in the full program...

Virginia Guard battalion helps establish Afghan Transportation Network
January 27, 2011 — The Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion has been instrumental in reaching an important milestone for sustainment operations in Afghanistan with the successful establishment of the Afghan Transportation Network. The first five trucks of the ATN departed Shindand Air Base Jan. 15, 2011, loaded with cargo for support of units of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division located in Herat, Afghanistan...

Virginia Guard Commonwealth ChalleNGe program graduates 134 from Class 33
December 27, 2010 — The Virginia National Guard Commonwealth ChalleNGe program graduated 134 cadets from Class 33 Dec. 18 at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach. Commonwealth ChalleNGe is a free, statewide quasi-military program for at-risk teens who have dropped out of high school...

Tajik officers join leaders from 183rd RTI, Virginia OCS for training seminar
October 7, 2010 — The 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute and the Virginia Officer Candidate School hosted a delegation of three Tajik field grade officers from the Tajikistan Military Institute, as well as Maj. Joe Gross, a U.S. Embassy liaison in Tajikistan, Sept. 20-24 as part of the State Partnership Program. The Tajiks participated in a workshop with OCS staff as they analyzed the current OCS Program of Instruction and tried to assimilate applicable areas into creating a 20-day program for their Institute graduates as they prepare to stand up a peacekeeping battalion...

Virginia Guard helicopter crew helps firefighters battle fire at Henrico landfill
September 13, 2010 — A Virginia National Guard helicopter crew flying a Black Hawk helicopter equipped with a 600-gallon water bucket helped Henrico County firefighters contain a blaze Sept. 8 at The East End landfill...

Lynchburg-based infantry battalion returns to Virginia from Iraqi duty
August 25, 2010 — Approximately 300 Soldiers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team returned to the United States Aug. 25, 2010, after serving in Iraq since March 2010. The Soldiers flew into the Roanoke Regional Airport where they were greeted by senior leaders of the Virginia Guard as well as World War II veterans from the 29th Infantry Division Association and then travelled by bus to be reunited with their family and friends in their home armories in Bedford, Christiansburg, Lexington and Lynchburg...

Virginia’s Task Force Overlord prepares for Iraq departure
August 10, 2010 — A sandy windswept parking lot makes an unlikely backdrop for military pageantry, but the Soldiers and leadership of 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment from Lynchburg, Va., did their best to uphold the finest traditions of the Army at their End of Mission and Colors Casing ceremony Aug. 8, 2010, at Contingency Operating Base Adder. The ceremony marked the end of Task Force Overlord’s formal mission in Iraq...

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