RICHMOND, Va. –
The Virginia National Guard ceremonially broke ground on the first in a series of projects to construct a new Army National Guard Aviation Support Facility March 31, 2025, in Sandston, Virginia.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw, the Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, and Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, all spoke during the ceremony, thanking the aviators for their readiness and resolve.
“What a great day to celebrate our Virginia National Guard,” said Youngkin. “The opportunity for us to have a new home that will in fact be the kind of facility that our Virginia National Guard deserves, I believe, is not only important, but honors the capabilities that so deeply support not just state needs, but national needs. Being the commonwealth’s protector is a huge responsibility, one that requires facilities and support that enable you to go in confidence.”
“Our Citizen Soldiers and Airmen are ready at any time of peril to answer the commonwealth’s call and also our nation’s call,” said Ring. “The Army Aviation Support Facility is part of that vital infrastructure which enables us as a National Guard to do that. This is what this vital facility supports every day.”
VNG Soldiers assigned to the Troutville-based 29th infantry Division Band provided ceremonial music for the event, and volunteers with the Virginia Defense Force provided traffic control and parking assistance.
The first project will build half of the approximately 11,000-square-foot helicopter parking space for the VNG’s UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters as well as an approximately 22,000-square-foot hangar and approximately 3,100-square-foot-operations building for the UH-72 helicopters. The project is projected for completion in 2027 at an estimated cost of $49 million.
The current VNG AASF is adjacent to the Richmond International Airport, and the lease expires in 2032. The main hanger is 35 years old and only offers 52% of the space authorized by National Guard Bureau allocations.
“I’m a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and one of the jobs I have is to go to bat for projects like this,” said Kaine. “We’ve been able to get federal funding to the tune of about $25 million to get us to this day, and we think we have more to do. I will do that enthusiastically.”
The VNG currently has 24 rotary wing aircraft including 17 UH 60 Black Hawk assault helicopters, three UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters and four hour UH-72 Lakota light utility helicopters. The Lakota helicopters operate from a leased space at the Chesterfield County Airport along with a C-12 twin turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft.
The new facility will support a total of 27 UH-60 and UH-72 helicopters and one C-12 aircraft.
“Facilities like this have a huge bang for the buck,” said Kaine. “They can protect us at home, and they can make the world safer abroad as well.”
The current facility employs 90 full-time personnel, 430 traditional status National Guard Soldiers, and houses a fleet of 24 rotary aircraft. It generates an estimated $16 million of annual economic activity.
Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony thanked members of the VNG aviation community for their commitment to keeping Virginia and the world safe, and highlighted emergency response during recent hurricanes, including the Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team’s efforts rescuing citizens during Hurricane Helene in 2024.
“The Virginia National Guard is truly the protector of the commonwealth, and I saw it demonstrated with such clarity back during Hurricane Helene,” said Youngkin. “When we call in the Guard to stand alongside the heroes from the State Police, local police, our heroes from the Department of Transportation, you see Virginians aid Virginians. Thank you for representing the commonwealth with such professionalism and such commitment. This facility will demonstrate that you are ready.”
“They have been able to deliver on every call - every call our nation has made, and every call our governor has made. They have delivered, and will deliver again,” said Crenshaw. “This facility here will enhance that readiness.”
Subsequent projects to complete the facility include construction of the balance of the authorized helicopter parking area, maintenance shops, an unheated aircraft storage area, an aircraft maintenance hangar, flight operations space and an aviation fuel station.
Current construction projections support the movement of all aircraft and flight operations by the end of the lease of the current facility in 2032. The total cost for the entire facility is estimated at $250 million.
“Our Citizen Soldiers, with this facility, will make sure we sustain peace through deterrence with a strong and ready force, that remains ready to deploy anytime, anywhere the commonwealth calls and our nation calls,” said Ring.
Units based at the current AASF are some of the most deployed in the Virginia National Guard with federal active-duty deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Djibouti, the Americas, and multiple aviation emergency response operations in Virginia and surrounding states. Read more at https://vngpao.info/mrxrkv3m.
Additional information on previous mobilizations as well as significant domestic response operations and training missions:
Virginia National Guard aviation crews assigned to the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division trained on aerial fire suppression with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with water buckets March 12, 2025, during a prescribed burn at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. Fort Barfoot Fire and Emergency Services personnel managed the prescribed burn along with the staff from Natural Resources Division of the Fort Barfoot Department of Public Works. Read more at https://vngpao.info/4fy8b3px.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin recognized Virginia National Guard assets including aviators assigned to the Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team and Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group during his State of the Commonwealth address Jan. 13, 2025, in Richmond, Virginia. The HART team, including rescue specialists with Chesterfield Fire Department, received recognition for their efforts participating in rescue missions in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s effects on Southwest Virginia, the first real-world rescues the team has performed. Read more at https://vngpao.info/2c744r6p.
For three years running, the Virginia National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility has ranked first in the nation for equipment readiness. Located in Sandston, Virginia, next to Richmond International Airport, with an auxiliary location at the Chesterfield Executive Airport, the AASF is home to the VNG’s fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters. A dedicated team of around 50 full-time technicians maintains the fleet with just 25 percent of the personnel of a similarly-sized active duty organization, all while also ranking in the top ten nationally for operational tempo. Read more at https://vngpao.info/2c7eszn5.
After years of intense training and planning, Virginia National Guard aviation crews and Chesterfield County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Scuba Rescue Team members conducted real-world rescue hoists of stranded citizens Sept. 27 and 28, 2024, in and around Abingdon, Virginia, due to flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Together, the aviators and technical rescue specialists form the Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, or HART, to provide rotary wing aviation rescue hoist capabilities, and can conduct aerial rescue evacuation in emergency situations. Read more at https://vngpao.info/mr2x45tv.
Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division continue to provide aerial fire suppression support Nov. 7, 2023, in Madison County, Virginia, to support wildfire fighting in the area. In the first 24 hours, VNG aviation crews made 15 drops of nearly 10,000 gallons of water. Read more at https://vngpao.info/eu2zuszs.
The Virginia National Guard's Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division officially ended its mission in Kosovo as Kosovo Force’s Regional Command-East welcomed the Soldiers of their new aviation task force during a transfer of authority ceremony Oct. 11, 2022, at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. Read more at https://vngpao.info/yaeu7st4.
Approximately 25 Soldiers assigned to the Chesterfield-based Detachment 2, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment returned to the United States Nov. 3, 2018, after serving on federal active duty in Kosovo since January. The Soldiers provided aerial medical evacuation support and training to U.S. and allied forces supporting Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo. Read more at https://vngpao.info/bdfb48xh.
Virginia National Guard aviation crews and Chesterfield County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Scuba Rescue Team members trained on rescue hoist operations during a training exercise June 8-10, 2021, in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The VNG aviators and Chesterfield rescue crews make up the Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, providing rotary wing rescue hoist capabilities which can conduct aerial rescue evacuations. Read more at https://vngpao.info/yerm7tux.
Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment returned to the United States in early December 2011 after serving in Iraq since April 2011. The battalion, also known as "Task Force Punisher," mobilized more than 400 Virginia and Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers for duty in Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn, and they were one of the last three U.S. military aviation assets to depart Iraq. They flew more that 16,500 combat flight hours during more than 1,800 combat missions while performing split-based operations from seven different locations. Read more at https://vngpao.info/mv5dwwbs.
Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment returned to the United States Feb. 15, 2007, after serving a year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Soldiers flew more than 18,000 flight hours supporting Marine Aircraft Group 16. Read more at https://vngpao.info/bdeuztkt
Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment returned home from Bosnia-Herzegovina April 6, 2002, after serving on federal active duty for seven months in support of the NATO Stabilization Force mission. Read more at https://vngpao.info/2p8re9nb.