Virginia National Guard

Candidates, cadre, graduates celebrate OCS 58th birthday
April 26, 2016 — RICHMOND, Va. — Officer candidates, graduates and cadre of the Virginia Army National Guard Officer Candidate School celebrated its 58th birthday with a ceremony April 19, 2016, at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College’s Downtown Campus in Richmond, Virginia. Officer candidates in Class 58, who are scheduled to graduate in August 2016, organized the ceremony, which included the family of Capt. Harry Q. Rose, a graduate of Class VIII who was killed in Vietnam in 1969 and remains the only Virginia OCS graduate to have been killed in action... MORE

Va. Guard OCS commissions 17 new officers
August 26, 2015 — FORT PICKETT, Va. – In a ceremony held Aug. 22, 2015, 17 officer candidates enrolled in Class 57 of the Virginia Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School received their commissions in a traditional graduation ceremony held at Fort Pickett’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute. The ceremony marked the end of an almost two year journey for the candidates as they took their oaths of office, received their OCS diplomas and their second lieutenant bars and received their first salute as new officers... MORE

Va. Guard officer candidates hold on to history
April 22, 2015 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — Expecting a lecture filled with monotonous slides and a never-ending list of historic dates and names, the officer candidates of the Virginia Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School of the Fort Pickett-based 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, walked into Col. Thomas L. Morgan’s military history class April 19, 2015, and quickly discovered that this wasn’t going to be like any other class. The candidates of Class 57 found tables with dozens of museum quality rifles, knives and glass boxes filled with various buttons and uniform insignias. ... MORE

Virginia Guard OCS graduates 7 new officers
October 2, 2014 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — In a ceremony held Sept. 27, 2014, seven officer candidates enrolled in the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School Class 57B earned their commissions at Fort Pickett’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute in front of family, friends and Virginia National Guard leaders and Soldiers. The candidates started the 56-day summer accelerated program in July and completed the course in early September... MORE

Governor welcomes eight new Virginia Guard officers
July 29, 2014 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — Governor Terry McAuliffe welcomed eight new Virginia National Guard officers during their graduation and commissioning ceremony as the guest speaker July 26, 2014, at the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute at Fort Pickett, Va. The officers of OCS Class 56 completed a two-year Officer Candidate School Course at Fort Pickett to earn their commissions. ... MORE

Va. Guard officer candidates complete community service project
June 17, 2014 — BLACKSTONE, Va – Virginia Officer Candidate School Class 56 visited residents at Clay’s Assisted Living on Saturday, May 24, 2014, as part of their Phase II community service requirement. Officer candidates coordinated with Barbara Mosley, a manager at Clay’s Assisted Living, to orchestrate a presence patrol at the center. ... MORE

Four officer candidates earn commissions
April 16, 2014 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — Four Virginia Army National Guard officer candidates pinned on second lieutenant rank at a graduation and commissioning ceremony held April 12, 2014, at the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute at Fort Pickett. The officers of OCS Class 57A completed the eight-week Accelerated Officer Candidate School Course at Fort McClellan, Ala., to earn their commissions. ... MORE

Virginia Guard Soldier to serve as bobsled coach in 2014 Olympics
January 29, 2014 — First Lt. Michael Kohn, a Virginia National Guard Soldier assigned to the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, is among nine Soldiers in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program named as members of the U.S. Olympic Team who will compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, scheduled for Feb. 7 through 24 in Sochi, Russia... MORE

Virginia Guard officer candidates get close encounter with history
May 19, 2013 — FORT PICKETT, Va. – In 21 years, Col. Thom Morgan has only missed teaching Virginia Guard officer candidates military history one time, and that was when he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. He and his father, Lonnie Morgan, work together each year to give the officer candidates a unique first-hand look into Virginia’s military history, and have been doing so since 1992... MORE

Virginia Guard officer candidates clean up for local charity
May 9, 2013 — RICHMOND, Va. -- Officer candidates from the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School worked together May 4, 2013, clearing debris, mowing grass, trimming hedges and blowing leaves at two homes operated by a local charity called SupportOne, as part of their class community project. Twelve OCs participated in the event, dubbed “Extreme Yard Makeover Day,” and made use of tools and equipment lent by a local landscaping firm co-owned by one of the candidates. ... MORE

Soldiers from Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters return to Virginia after duty in Afghanistan
January 9, 2012 — Approximately 110 Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters returned to Virginia Jan. 7 after serving on federal active duty in Afghanistan since early August 2011. The unit served as headquarters for Combined Team Zabul where it conducted full-spectrum counterinsurgency operations in Zabul Province in southeast Afghanistan, a region nearly the size of the State of New Jersey. They officially began federal active duty May 15, 2011 and mobilized with just 60 days notice... MORE

Last group of Va. Guard Soldiers from Task Force 183 return to United States after duty in Iraq
December 15, 2011 — With the return of approximately 320 Soldiers to Camp Atterbury, Ind., Dec. 11 and 12, 2011, all the personnel from the Virginia National Guard's Task Force 183 have returned to the United States after serving in Iraq since August 2011. The Soldiers officially began federal active duty June 1... MORE

Task Force Punisher Soldiers return to Virginia from Iraq
December 15, 2011 — Approximately 210 Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers from the Sandston-based 2nd Assault Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 91st Troop Command returned to Virginia Dec. 10, 2011, after serving in Iraq since April 2011. The Soldiers arrived in two separate flights on Saturday, and were welcomed home by senior leaders of the Virginia National Guard and reunited with their families and friends at the Virginia National Guard Aviation Support Facility in Sandston... MORE

First group of Sandston-based National Guard aviation battalion returns to USA from duty in Iraq
December 5, 2011 — Approximately 275 Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers from the Sandston-based 2nd Assault Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 91st Troop Command returned to the United States Dec. 3 and 4, 2011 after serving in Iraq since April 2011. The Soldiers are the main body of about 325 total Soldiers from the unit returning to Virginia, and they will spend about seven to 10 days conducting a number of different administrative and reintegration demobilization activities at Fort Hood, Texas to transition from active duty back to traditional National Guard status prior to returning to Virginia... MORE

Lynchburg-based infantry battalion returns to Virginia from Iraqi duty
August 25, 2010 — Approximately 300 Soldiers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team returned to the United States Aug. 25, 2010, after serving in Iraq since March 2010. The Soldiers flew into the Roanoke Regional Airport where they were greeted by senior leaders of the Virginia Guard as well as World War II veterans from the 29th Infantry Division Association and then travelled by bus to be reunited with their family and friends in their home armories in Bedford, Christiansburg, Lexington and Lynchburg... MORE

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