Virginia National Guard

Family bonds help military couple separated by deployment
February 14, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — This Valentine’s Day, Capt. Rachel Billmyer is deployed overseas with the 529th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion. Her fiancé, Capt. Joshua Morgan, is here in Virginia, working full-time as a program manager for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs while commanding the Virginia National Guard’s 237th Engineer Company. Both Billmyer and Morgan are familiar with the deployment process. “I’m the third person in my family to deploy since 2014,” Billmyer said. Both her parents serve in the National Guard and Morgan’s father retired a few years ago and all three have deployed within the past several years... MORE

Miller retires after 30 years of service
February 4, 2019 — VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — “Serve my country!” stated Pvt. E. Tim Miller when asked by a senior officer in 1988 why he enlisted in the Army National Guard. Although such a phrase sounds cliché today, 30 years later, now-Command Sgt. Maj. E. Tim Miller emphasized how Soldiers need to examine why they serve, and ultimately, it should be to simply, “serve our country.”... MORE

Saber Soldiers provide crew evaluations for active-duty cavalry squadron
January 29, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — Virginia National Guard cavalry Soldiers provided vehicle crew evaluators for their active-duty counterparts from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, during gunnery training Jan. 15 – 26, 2019, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Soldiers assigned to the Portsmouth-based 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team provided the evaluation support for the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division as they conducted crew-served gunnery ranges with multiple vehicles and weapons systems... MORE

Puckett named VNG command chief warrant officer
January 24, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — Chief Warrant Officer 5 Joseph W. Puckett has been named as the Virginia National Guard’s new Command Chief Warrant Officer, according to an announcement made Jan. 24, 2019, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. The assignment is effective April 1, 2019, and follows the pending retirement of current Chief Warrant Officer 4 Donald Unmussig. “Chief Warrant Officer 4 Unmussig has provided outstanding leadership to the Warrant Officer Corps, and sage counsel to me on all related matters,” Williams wrote in the announcement. “His contributions to the Army logistics community and National Guard as a whole have been remarkable. We truly appreciate his dedication and sacrifice to our commonwealth and nation, and wish him the very best in retirement.”... MORE

Virginia recruiters recognized for excellence
January 24, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, recognized the Virginia Army National Guard’s top recruiters Jan. 23, 2019, at the Sergeant Bob Slaughter Headquarters at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. He also commended the Recruiting and Retention Battalion for their success at the recent National Guard Strength Maintenance Advisory Group – Region II competitions... MORE

529th CSSB officially begins mission in the Middle East
January 13, 2019 — CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Soldiers of the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion assumed responsibility of their assigned battlefield sustainment operations on Jan. 1, 2019, and commemorated by a transfer of authority ceremony Jan. 7... MORE

Virginia National Guard dedicates new headquarters to D-Day veteran
January 8, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia National Guard’s newly-built Joint Force Headquarters was officially named and dedicated for Roanoke native and D-Day veteran Sgt. John Robert “Bob” Slaughter Jan. 8, 2019, at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia... MORE

Virginia National Guard to dedicate new headquarters to D-Day veteran from Roanoke
January 7, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia National Guard’s newly-built Joint Force Headquarters will be officially named and dedicated for D-day veteran Sgt. John Robert “Bob” Slaughter at 10 a.m. Jan. 8, 2019, at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, will join members of Slaughter’s family and distinguished guests to dedicate the headquarters building, which officially opened in May 2018... MORE

VNG Soldier competes in World Military Taekwondo Championship
January 4, 2019 — RIO DE JANEIRO — A Virginia National Guard Soldier assigned to the Manassas-based Delta Company, 229th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team competed in the World Military Taekwondo Championships Nov. 27 – Dec. 3, 2018 in Rio de Janeiro... MORE

Unit, family, friends gather to remember fallen VNG Soldiers 14 years later
December 22, 2018 — Two Virginia National Guard Soldiers killed Dec. 21, 2004, in a suicide bombing in Mosul, Iraq, were remembered by fellow Soldiers, family and friends with a wreath laying Dec. 21, 2018, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia... MORE

VNG’s Funeral Honors Program ensuring all eligible veterans get proper final respects
December 19, 2018 — Army National Guard Soldiers from several states completed Level 1 Military Funeral Honors training hosted by the Virginia National Guard’s Military Funeral Honors Program Dec. 10 – 14, 2018, at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, Virginia... MORE

329th RSG conducts training to rapidly mobilize Soldiers
December 12, 2018 — Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group conducted reception and mission command exercises Nov. 25 – Dec. 9, 2018, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The 329th RSG was selected as one of the few military organizations assigned to be a Mission Support Force. MSFs have a unique and critical role to quickly mobilize thousands at a mobilization station in preparation for a deployment abroad... MORE

Mobilization roster, circa 1940, is jewel of Virginia National Guard’s historic archives
December 7, 2018 — When he’s asked what is the Virginia National Guard’s most prized historic artifact, command historian Al Barnes’ answer may illicit some surprise. It’s not a weapon or a uniform, and it’s not patch or a photo. Instead, Barnes calls a 1940 Virginia National Guard mobilization roster a “pearl without price.”... MORE

Virginia Guard special response force selected to test new communications suite
December 7, 2018 — Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Blackstone-based 34th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package, also known as CERFP (pronounced “Surf-P”), have been selected to test a new communications suite being issued to the National Guard CBRN Response Enterprise beginning in 2019. Approximately 30 Soldiers and Airmen are scheduled to participate in the new equipment testing... MORE

91st Cyber Brigade conducts groundbreaking for new headquarters
November 26, 2018 — Senior leadership of the Virginia National Guard, 91st Cyber Brigade and Fort Belvoir broke ground on a new headquarters for the 91st Cyber Brigade Nov. 16, 2018, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia... MORE

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