Virginia National Guard

Virginia OCS dedicates building to Capt. Harry Q. Rose
October 3, 2018 — An intimate gathering of Soldiers and family members marked the dedication of the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School building in honor of Capt. Harry Q. Rose Sept. 22, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Rose graduated from OCS Class VI in 1966 and earned the honor graduate distinction after completing the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he first branched as an artillery officer... MORE

Air Assault & Pathfinder Schools held at Fort Pickett
September 5, 2018 — It was “Zero Day” of Air Assault School, Aug. 7, 2018, and for most of the 270 Soldiers gathered at Fort Pickett, their reason for being there was simple: They wanted to prove something... MORE

Army Reserve engineers improve Fort Pickett infrastructure
August 10, 2018 — Army Reserve Soldiers assigned to the Marion, Virginia-based 760th Engineer Company, 363rd Engineer Battalion worked to improve sidewalks at the Maneuver Training Center Fort Pickett during their extended combat training July 14-27, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The Soldiers conducted the training as part of several troop projects across the post in coordination with the Fort Pickett Department of Public Works during the battalion’s annual two-week training... MORE

Virginia Soldiers, Airmen awarded for marksmanship excellence
June 27, 2018 — Sixty-four Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen participated in this year’s Adjutant General’s State Pistol Match, held June 22-24, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The event, hosted by the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, had shooters split into 16 teams of four to test their marksmanship skills against some of the best shooters in the state and the nation. On Sunday, the top shooters gathered at the RTI for an awards ceremony that recognized the year’s top team and individual competitors... MORE

DMA conducts its first-ever Supervisor Course
June 18, 2018 — The Virginia Department of Military Affairs conducted its first-ever Supervisor Course June 4-7, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The class was held at Fort Pickett, but may be conducted at other locations in the future... MORE

DiNonno takes command of 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
June 10, 2018 — Lt. Col. Joseph DiNonno took command of the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Col. Scott Smith, in a traditional change of command ceremony June 10, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Brig. Gen. John Epperly, commander of the 29th Infantry Division, presided over the exchange of unit colors that symbolized the transfer of command from Smith to DiNonno... MORE

Training. Weight lifting. Ruck marching. How one Virginia National Guard soldier overcomes challenges, becomes runner-up in Best Warrior Competition
June 5, 2018 — Spc. Johnathan T. Koke used the experience he gained during the 2016 Virginia National Guard Best Warrior Competition to better prepare for the 2018 event. Koke is a member of the Gate City-based 1032nd Transportation Company, 1030th Transportation Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group and finished as the runner-up for this year’s Best Warrior Competition, a three-day event held in late February... MORE

How one Virginia National Guard soldier overcomes challenges, becomes runner-up in Best Warrior Competition

Virginia Soldiers & Airmen compete in state rifle match
May 31, 2018 — cattered storms and heavy rain made way for a wet and muddy two-day marksmanship competition. Fifty-seven Soldiers and Airmen from the Virginia National Guard participated in the Adjutant General’s 2018 Rifle Match May 18-19, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia.The annual event is open to all Army and Air National Guard members across the state of... MORE

Virginia NCO & Maryland Soldier named best warriors in the region
May 22, 2018 — The 2018 Region II Best Warrior Competition brought Soldiers and NCOs from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. to Fort Pickett May 17-20, 2018. After days of physical and mental challenges that had the region’s best Soldiers leaping over obstacles, knocking down targets and testing their military knowledge, Virginia National Guardsman Sgt. Jake Moyer was named the region’s top noncommissioned officer, while Maryland’s Spc. Gerald Villamar was named the top Soldier. The winners from the regional competition will go on to compete at the national level this summer... MORE

116th IBCT staff conducts command post exercise to prepare for Warfighter
April 24, 2018 — More than 350 members of the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team participated in a command post exercise April 12-15, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia... MORE

National Guard infantrymen complete final challenge of ALC
March 25, 2018 — “Conducting a full raid on a village with a helicopter, that’s hard to beat,” said Sgt. Dexter Whitten, an Indiana National Guardsman enrolled in the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute’s Infantry Advanced Leaders Course. Together with more than 30 of his classmates, Whitten watched as four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters approached March 19, 2018, and landed in the Fort Pickett field in front of them. The aircraft, flown by Soldiers assigned to the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, were there in support of course’s culminating event, a raid on one of Fort Pickett’s villages... MORE

VDF trains on individual skills, professional development
March 21, 2018 — More than 130 members of the Virginia Defense Force conducted training to improve their individual skills and professional development March 16-18, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. VDF volunteers trained on high frequency radio and mobile communications platform operations, incident management assistance, traffic control and access control and also took part in professional development classes including junior officer and senior noncommissioned officer leader development, property accountability, procurement procedures, officer candidate school and recruiting and retention. Communications support, operations center augmentation and security assistance are some of the many different mission sets the VDF provides as the all-volunteer auxiliary to the Virginia National Guard authorized by the Code of Virginia... MORE

Virginia Soldiers truck UH-1 from Pickett to new headquarters site
March 15, 2018 — A multi-unit effort resulted in the addition of a UH-1 Huey helicopter to the historical artifacts on display at the site of the new Virginia National Guard headquarters building March 10, 2018, at Defense Supply Center Richmond in Chesterfield County, Virginia... MORE

Red Dragons conduct individual, squad-level training at Pickett during March drill
March 5, 2018 — Approximately 800 Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conducted training on individual skills and squad-level tactics March 2-4, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia... MORE

Moyer, Bustillo named Virginia National Guard Best NCO, Soldier
March 1, 2018 — After four days of intense competition at the Virginia National Guard Best Warrior Competition, Sgt. Jake Moyer was named the Virginia National Guard’s Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, while Spc. Miguel Bustillo was named the Soldier of the Year Feb. 25, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Moyer is assigned to 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, while Bustillo is assigned to the 134th Cyber Security Company, 91st Cyber Brigade... MORE

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