VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. –
Brig. Gen. Todd Hubbard, the Virginia National Guard Director of the Joint Staff, retired Col. Everton Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs Chief of Staff, and Lt. Col. John Crocker, the State Military Reservation commander, recognized and thanked DMA state employees for their hard work and dedication during an employee appreciation luncheon Dec. 19, 2025, at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“First off thank you for what you’ve done this past year,” Hubbard said. “And for this coming year, I want to thank you in advance because we’re going to do as much or even more than we did this year.
“As we head into the holiday season, I ask you to think about your friends and battle buddies and check on each other,” Hubbard said. “The holidays can be a tough time so I just you to check on at least one person and make sure everyone gets back here next year because we need every one of you.”
The Virginia Department of Military Affairs is the state agency that provides leadership and administrative support to the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard and Virginia Defense Force. DMA plans, coordinates, maintains situational awareness and employs VaARNG, VaANG and VDF forces for homeland security and homeland defense in order to respond to any incidents within the commonwealth.
“Thank you to everyone for all the hard work you put in here,” Crocker said. “The truth is, the kind of work most of you do is not the stuff that gets a lot of highlights, it’s not super exciting, people don’t always talk about it, but it’s the things that have to happen.
“We really appreciate the time and effort you put in because without what you do, none of these operations happen,” he said.
During the luncheon several DMA employees were recognized for their years of service to the organization-
Five years: Rieko Luking, Nildivette Soto Cintron
10 Years: Stanley Christian, Adrian Hampton, Jessica Jaunet
20 Years: Shelia Beale
SMR is a Virginia Army National Guard facility located just south of the main resort area of Virginia Beach. The facility was originally laid out on approximately 400 acres in 1911 with construction beginning in 1912. Today, SMR occupies approximately 300 acres with an additional 27 acres leased from the federal government.
SMR serves as a vital training installation, not just for the Virginia National Guard, but for personnel from all four branches of the military, both active duty and reserve, local and state first responders, and a variety of community organizations.
Units based at SMR include the Virginia Air National Guard’s 203rd RED HORSE and the Virginia Army National Guard’s 329th Regional Support Group; 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion; 1173rd Transportation Company; 576th Engineer Utilities Detachment; and Recruit Sustainment Program 9.
The Virginia Guard Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy is also located on SMR.
The Virginia National Guard Funeral Honors Team, the Virginia National Guard Sexual Assault Response Coordinator’s office and the Virginia Defense Force are among the programs that regularly train at SMR.
In addition to Army and Air National Guard units, SMR hosts active-duty units from all four branches and the U.S. Coast Guard.
It also hosts training by the Virginia State Police, Virginia Beach Police Department, Virginia Beach Fire Department and the Virginia Fire Marshals Academy.