VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. –
Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group Headquarters received the Virginia Governor’s National Service Medal Oct. 23, 2022, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to recognize their federal active duty service in Iraq and Kuwait from Oct. 7, 2021, to June 6, 2022.
“My sincere thanks for the great work you did,” Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, told the Soldiers of the 329th. “You were trained and ready to go, and you drew a tough mission that generated a lot of stress, but you did a phenomenal job.”
He presented the medals during the ceremony concluding the unit’s Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Weekend hosted by the Virginia National Guard Family Programs Office.
Williams talked about the importance of first reconnecting with family after a long deployment as well as reconnecting with jobs and professional relationships. He thanks all the family members present at the ceremony for their support which is so critical to mission success.
The 329th RSG HQs supported Operation Inherent Resolve at Al Asad Air Base, Erbil Air Base and Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait where they provided mission command and base life support.
Federal and state elected officials were also on hand to thank the Soldiers for their service. Additional Soldiers assigned to the 29th Infantry Division and 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who were not able to attend their Yellow Ribbon Weekend were also recognized.
“There are lots of stats associated with this mission like thousands of troops supported, tons of supplies and material moved, millions of dollars of projects executed, numbers of Combat Action Badges or awards earned, but the number I'm most proud of is actually zero,” said Col. Todd Pegg, commander of the 329th RSG, at the end of their mission. “The 329th had zero Purple Hearts, breaking the trend of our predecessor units, in part due to our increased focus and efforts on improving base defenses and hardening force protection measures. Beyond keeping our own folks safe, the lasting improvements the Jamestown team made will serve countless U.S. and coalition troops well in the future."
Collectively, the 329th RSG's missions included commanding assigned or attached units, supporting units and personnel as directed, providing contract requirements definition and oversight, determining base camp support requirements, supporting a 24/7 base defense operations center and overseeing base camp management and operations.
“The 329th RSG excelled in this complex, non-doctrinal mission,” Pegg said. “From numerous indirect fire and unmanned aerial system attacks at the bases in Iraq, to the complexities associated with operations in the inter-agency environment of Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center and the multi-functional support to the CJTF-OIR staff in Camp Arifjan, the 329th RSG provided outstanding leadership, achieving immeasurable results to the bases they led and supported.”
Collectively the 329th RSG expertly responded multiple indirect fire and unmanned aerial system attacks, Pegg said. The 329th RSG staff was focused on integrating all the key entities from initiation of the attack through post-attack recovery.
“The leadership and strong abilities in process improvement were critical to the quick response to these attacks,” he said. “Personnel accountability post-attack was a top priority of the command.”
Created in 2005 by then-Governor Mark R. Warner, the Virginia Governor's National Service Medal recognizes the service of the men and women of the Virginia Army and Air National Guard called to active federal duty since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Read more about their mission at
https://ngpa.us/22272.