SANDSTON, Va. –
The Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group has received a mobilization order to enter federal active service for duty in the Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to an announcement made July 12, 2018, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. Approximately 70 Soldiers will begin serving on federal active duty in November 2018, and when they arrive in the Middle East they will operate as a mission command headquarters with the task of planning and executing logistics support for U.S. and coalition forces in the Central Command area of operations.
“The 529th CSSB is one of the most well-respected logistics units in the entire U.S. Army,” Williams said. “They are lead by highly capable and experienced officers and senior NCOs who are well-versed in the many facets of sustainment operations for U.S. and coalition forces in a combat zone, and the Soldiers are second to none. I have the utmost confidence in their ability to perform their mission, and I know they will ensure their units receive all the support they need to be successful.”
A combat sustainment support battalion is a multifunctional logistics headquarters that exercises mission command for assigned companies, teams, and detachments executing logistics operations such as the acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance and disposition of materiel and the acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation and disposition of facilities.
This is the third federal active duty deployment for the 529th since being federally recognized in 2009.
The Soldiers are scheduled to report to Fort Hood, Texas, for approximately 25 days of mobilization training before deploying overseas to the Middle East.
The mobilization orders call for an active-duty period not to exceed 400 days, but the Secretary of Defense can extend tours for operational needs for up to 24 months or 730 days.
The 529th was formed in December 2006 and is under the command of the Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group. While in Virginia, the 529th has command and control of the Virginia Beach-based 1173rd Transportation Company, the Blackstone-based 3647th Maintenance Company, the Fort Pickett-based 157th Engineer Platoon and the Onancock-based 576th Engineer Utilities Detachment.
Soldiers assigned to the 529th served in Kuwait and Iraq from July 2014 to April 2015 where they planned and coordinated combat sustainment support for U.S. and coalition forces in Kuwait and the surrounding region to include Afghanistan and Iraq. During their nine months in Kuwait, the 529th adapted to an ever-developing mission set, quadrupled the sustainment capabilities of the battalion and provided ground, sea and air distribution of supplies and equipment, ammunition holding and distribution, maintenance, material handling and supply management by U. S. Army units as well as contracted support. Soldiers from the 529th operated in a forward support element in Iraq that was responsible for the sustainment support that got critical supplies to U. S. and coalition forces conducting combat operations against ISIL as well as advise and assist missions in the region.
The unit previously deployed in March 2010, when it operated from the remote forward operating base at Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan. While there it pioneered logistical support operations as the first U.S. combat support battalion in the area to conduct operations. The battalion was responsible for building an expeditionary life support complex and infrastructure for the entire airbase while providing seamless sustainment operations for supported units as well as helping improve quality of life and promoting economic development in local Afghan communities.The battalion provided command and control for more than 500 Soldiers from three active duty units- the 104th Transportation Company from Fort Benning, Ga., the 183d Maintenance Company from Fort Carson, Colo., and the 226th Quartermaster Platoon from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Working directly with Italian, Spanish, Slovenian and Afghan forces, the unit’s mission was to provide supply, maintenance and transportation support to U.S. and coalition warfighters throughout the region.
The 529th CSSB was one of eight units recognized as a Distinguished Unit of the Regiment during the Quartermaster Regimental Honors and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony June 5, 2015, at Fort Lee, Virginia, The Distinguished Unit of the Regiment award was introduced in 1993 to recognize outstanding units, past and present, who have made a significant contributions to the Quartermaster Corps.
In September 2013 the National Guard Association of the United States presented the 529th CSSB with the Milton A. Reckord Award for training excellence during the 135th NGAUS General Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. NGAUS presents the Reckord Award each year to the Army National Guard battalion that achieves the highest state of readiness in the country. For the Reckord Award, the battalion must have demonstrated superior performance in the areas of personnel strength, retention, duty MOS qualification, individual and crew served weapons qualification, the Army Physical Fitness Test, drill weekend attendance and annual training attendance. The battalion, along with its organic units, must have demonstrated a commitment to the welfare of its members and their families and to its communities during the training year for which being nominated.