Virginia National Guard

116th IBCT senior leaders visit Task Force Normandy
January 30, 2016 — Senior leaders of the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team visited Virginia National Guard Soldiers serving on federal active duty with the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in late January 2016 in Qatar. The battalion, also known as Task Force Normandy, began their mission of conducting security operations in November 2015... MORE

Va. Guard provides mobility assistance during winter storm
January 27, 2016 — The Virginia National Guard returned to routine operations Jan. 27, 2016, after having more than 400 Soldiers on state active duty supporting Virginia State Police and local first responders as they assisted citizens after a historic snowfall blanketed the commonwealth... MORE

MATES personnel refurbish Fort Pickett tracked vehicles
January 26, 2016 — With temperatures hovering in the low 20s, Soldiers of Fort Pickett’s Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site, or MATES, bundled up and put two tracked vehicles back on display at Fort Pickett, Virginia, Jan. 19, 2016. The vehicles, an M42 Duster and an M84 Mortar Carrier, have long been on display at Fort Pickett, and had accumulated a thick coat of pinesap, bird droppings and graffiti over the years. Over a months-long process, MATES personnel cleaned, sandblasted and repainted the hulking vehicles in an effort to restore them to their original glory... MORE

Va. Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs shares leadership lessons with Va. Guard
January 25, 2016 — Retired U. S. Navy Adm. John C. Harvey, Virginia’s Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, shared his thoughts on leadership with members of Virginia National Guard and local military Jan. 21, 2016, at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. The event was first in a series of professional development opportunities that are part of newly-developed Distinguished Speaker Program sponsored by the Virginia National Guard... MORE

Va. Guard provides mobility assistance to State Police, local EMS
January 23, 2016 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers across the state are assisting Virginia State Police troopers and local emergency organizations get through heavy snow to respond to vehicle crashes, evacuate citizens in need of medical assistance and have also helped get needed equipment to a house fire. As of the morning of Jan. 23, 2016, the Guard has approximately 400 personnel staged and ready along the I-81 corridor between Lexington and Winchester, along the Route 29 corridor from Warrenton to Danville, as well as in the areas near Northern Virginia, Richmond, Fredericksburg and Gate City... MORE

Va. Guard balances state, federal missions in 2015
January 13, 2016 — The Virginia National Guard is a unique dual-status force with a federal mission to serve as a combat reserve to help fight our nation’s wars and a state mission to provide domestic response capability to answer the call of the Governor to assist citizens of the commonwealth during times of need. All through 2015, the Virginia National Guard and its all-volunteer reserve, the Virginia Defense Force, demonstrated at home and across the globe that its forces are ready to respond when needed... MORE

Va. Guard officer honored at 2015 Women in Business Achievement Awards
January 6, 2016 — Lt. Col. Elena Scarbrough, commander of the Virginia National Guard’s Camp Pendleton Collective Training Center, was one of 15 Hampton Roads-area leaders honored at the 2015 Women in Business Achievement Awards Dec. 14, 2015, in Norfolk, Virginia... MORE

29th ID tested at Warfighter 16-2
November 26, 2015 — More than 400 Maryland and Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers from the 29th Infantry Division joined with National Guard and active duty Soldiers from around the country, as well as active duty and Air National Guard Airmen, for a nine-day warfighter exercise Nov. 13-22 at Camp Atterbury, Ind... MORE

Lt. Gen. Michael Tucker (left), First Army commanding general, speaks with Brig. Gen. Blake Ortner, commanding general of the Virginia Army National Guard’s 29th Infantry Division, during the Warfighter Exercise 16-2 Nov.18, 2015, at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

116th Infantry veterans and Soldiers gather for annual muster
November 17, 2015 — Veterans of the 116th Infantry Regiment and Soldiers of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team gathered at the 48th annual Regimental Muster for an evening of camaraderie and fellowship Nov. 14, 2015, in Staunton, Va. Senior leaders also provided updates on the recent activities of the 116th and the Virginia National Guard... MORE

Veterans of the 116th Infantry Regiment and Soldiers of the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team came together for the unit’s annual muster November 14, 2015, at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, Va.

116th IBCT welcomes a diverse group of new leaders
September 24, 2015 — Ten of the freshly-minted second lieutenants from Virginia National Guard Officer Candidate School Class 57 will report to the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to begin their officer careers after their commissioning ceremony held Aug. 22, 2015, at Fort Pickett, Va... MORE

Second Lt. Erin Noble is one of ten new lieutenants joining the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team after receiving their commissions from Virginia National Guard Officer Candidate School Aug. 22, 2015, at Fort Pickett’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute.

8th Military Information Support Group (Airborne) Soldiers learn leadership, tactics and teamwork
September 3, 2015 — Psychological Operations specialists from 8th Military Information Support Group (Airborne) recently graduated the U.S. Army Light Leaders Course at Fort Pickett, Va. The 14-day course, conducted by the Virginia National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 183rd Infantry Regiment’s Regional Training Institute, focuses on teaching back-to-basics infantry skills to non-commissioned officers... 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

Seventeen officer candidates enrolled in the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School receive their commissions and graduate from OCS Aug. 22, 2015, at Fort Pickett’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute in front of family, friends and Virginia Army National Guard senior leaders. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)

29th ID trains for Warfighter Exercise during annual training
August 12, 2015 — The 29th Infantry Division conducted final testing and integration of its computer systems and section operations July 11-24, 2015, at Fort Pickett, Va., in preparation for a warfighter exercise to be held at Camp Atterbury, Ind., later in the year. The November exercise, similar to a final exam, will test the full capabilities of the division and its ability to operate as a command headquarters... MORE

29th ID Soldiers support Operation Inherent Resolve
July 13, 2015 — Ten Virginia National Guard Soldiers from the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division are currently mobilized in Southwest Asia in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and U.S. Central Command efforts as members of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force, Syria. They are operating as an engineer team conducting construction project management and contracting efforts throughout the area of operations and as an administrative team supporting personnel actions for Army forces deployed to forward positions throughout the region... MORE

en Virginia National Guard Soldiers from the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division are currently mobilized in Southwest Asia providing engineer and administrative expertise in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and U.S. Central Command efforts as members of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force, Syria.

116th IBCT sets out for Fort Drum in largest movement since WWII
June 30, 2015 — More than 1,600 Soldiers of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and more than 1,000 pieces of their heavy equipment traveled to Fort Drum, N.Y., June 6, 71 years after the brigade landed on Omaha Beach. In the largest movement of brigade assets since World War II, the Staunton-based 116th IBCT Headquarters and five of its battalions made the long haul to participate in the first Multi-echelon Integrated Brigade Training run by First Army Division East, a division responsible for training Reserve and National Guard troops ahead of their ready year... MORE

Soldiers of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Virginia Army National Guard unload vehicles from a tractor trailer May 30, 2015, at Fort Drum, NY. T

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