Virginia National Guard

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

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

34th CST excels during external evaluation, certified as fully mission capable
June 24, 2015 — For the Soldiers and Airmen of the Virginia National Guard’s Fort Pickett-based 34th Civil Support Team hard work and preparation proved instrumental in their validation of 12 collective tasks following an Training Performance Evaluation, earning the overall assessment rating of “Fully Mission Capable,” June 24, 2015, following the exercise at the City Stadium in Richmond, Va... MORE

529th CSSB recognized as a Distinguished Unit of the Regiment
June 19, 2015 — The Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group was one of eight units recognized as a Distinguished Unit of the Regiment during the Quartermaster Regimental Honors and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony June 5, 2015, at Fort Lee, Va... MORE

29th ID, Va. Guard commemorate 71st anniversary of D-Day
June 16, 2015 — Senior leaders of the 29th Infantry Division and members of the 29th Division Band joined thousands of Americans, French and citizens of other Allied countries at ceremonies commemorating the 71st anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy at events June 6, 2015, in Bedford, Va., Yorktown, Va., and on the beaches of Normandy, France... MORE

116th IBCT heads to Fort Drum for annual training
June 3, 2015 — The 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is ready to conduct company-level validation training at the Multi-echelon Integrated Brigade Training exercise at Fort Drum, N.Y., for this year’s annual training... MORE

Soldiers from Danville-based 429th Brigade Support Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team load equipment onto flatbed trucks to be transported to Fort Drum for annual training.

116th IBCT Soldier earns top spot at Region II Best Warrior Competition
June 1, 2015 — Spc. Adam Sotelo of the Virginia National Guard was named Soldier of the Year at the Region II Best Warrior Competition May 31, 2015, after a three-day competition at Fort Pickett. Va. He is an infantryman from Arlington and assigned to the Winchester-based Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and is currently enrolled in the police academy with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C... MORE

Spc. Adam Sotelo, of the Virginia National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, is announced as the winner of 2015 Region II Best Warrior Competition May 31, 2015, at Fort Pickett, Va. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)

Va. Beach-based 529th CSSB completes federal mission in Kuwait, returns to United States
April 30, 2015 — Approximately 70 Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group returned to the United States April 20, 2015, after serving on federal active duty in Kuwait since July 2014. During the deployment they planned and coordinated combat sustainment support for U.S. and coalition forces in Kuwait and the surrounding region to include Afghanistan and Iraq... 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 Army National Guard Officer Candidates hold history in their hands during a military history course April 19, 2015, at the Fort Pickett-based 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute. Taught by Col. Thomas L. Morgan III, commander of the 183rd Regional Training Institute, the class included demonstrations on the loading and operating procedures for dozens of Civil-War era rifles and pistols, and displays of Civil War artifacts from the personal collections of Morgan and his father, Thomas L. Morgan Jr. After the classroom portion of the course, the candidates were able to pick and examine the pieces for a closer look. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Miko M. Skerrett, Virginia Guard Public Affairs)

116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team plants trees in honor Civil War Soldiers
April 22, 2015 — The blue and gray patch worn by all Soldiers in the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team signifies the unity between military units of the North and South combined under one name for World War I – the 29th Infantry Division. The patch served as a reminder to Soldiers that they were once adversaries on the battlefield but are now bonded together to fight as one. The goal for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Tree Planting Project is to honor every Civil War Soldier from the North and South who were killed in battle by planting a tree in their name... MORE

Virginia National Guard Soldiers from the Charlottesville-based Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team assist with planting 200 Rising Sun Redbud trees to honor fallen Civil War soldiers in support of the Living Legacy Tree Planting Project April 12, 2015, in Locust Dale, Va.

183rd RTI trains military police officers
April 7, 2015 — U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers from across the country completed the 31B Basic Military Police Officer course April 4, 2015, after more than 254 hours of training at Fort Pickett’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute. The MP course included two, two-week phases and allowed 11 Soldiers to earn the 31B Military Police Officer military occupational specialty... MORE

116th IBCT Soldier, NCO earn top honors at Va. Guard Best Warrior competition
March 30, 2015 — Spc. Adam Sotelo was named the 2014 Virginia National Guard Soldier of the Year, and Sgt. John Fracker was named Noncommissioned Officer of the Year March 29, 2015, at Fort Pickett, Va. Sotelo, an Arlington resident assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Fracker, who resides in Boones Mill and is assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th IBCT, earned the honors after competing in the two-day Best Warrior Competition at Fort Pickett... MORE

116th IBCT artillery Soldiers represent modern military at Jamestown history event
March 23, 2015 — Virginia National Guard field artillery Soldiers explained the capabilities of the M119A2 howitzer, answered questions about the Guard and took part in a demonstration of 400 years of Virginia artillery during the Military Through the Ages event March 21, 2015, at Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg, Va. Hundreds of re-enactors portrayed military organizations from Roman times, the medieval period, Hundred Years’ War, War of the Roses, French and Indian War, American Revolution, War of 1812 and American Civil War as well as World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War and the Falklands War with Soldiers from the Hampton-based Battery B, 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team representing the modern military... MORE

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