Virginia National Guard

Task Force St. Lo Soldiers celebrate Victory in Europe Day alongside Czech partners
May 11, 2024 — Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia National Guard Soldiers participated in a Victory in Europe celebration held May 8, 2024, in Hranice, Czech Republic... MORE

Guardsmen celebrate Victory in Europe Day alongside Czech partners

St. Lo Soldiers conduct air assault during drill weekend
April 12, 2024 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers with the Charlottesville-based Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conducted aviation training with crews with the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Regiment, 29th Infantry Division April 5, 2024, at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave, Virginia. The Soldiers' family members were invited to attend the training to demonstrate the rigorous routines they undergo when they are away from their families and training... MORE

229th BEB Soldier earns Expert Soldier Badge
April 9, 2024 — Maj. Josh Favaro, executive officer of the Virginia National Guard’s Fredericksburg-based 229th Brigade Engineering Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team earned the Expert Soldier Badge March 15, 2024, at Fort Walker, Virginia. In doing so, Favaro became the first Soldier to earn the ESB while assigned to the Virginia National Guard... MORE

Army flight school grad follows in father’s footsteps
February 20, 2024 — When Warrant Officer Paul D. Kelly walked across the stage and graduated flight school Feb.8, 2024, his silver wings were not the only thing he took away with him. Also in his tool kit is a sense of connection he found among those who knew and flew with his late father, Col. Paul M. Kelly, a senior Army aviator who served at the National Guard Bureau and Department of the Army Staff levels, who was killed in action when the warrant officer was only nine years old... MORE

Martin takes command of VaARNG from Gallagher
January 11, 2024 — Col. Charles B. Martin Jr. was promoted to brigadier general and formally took command of the Virginia Army National Guard from Brig. Gen. K. Weedon Gallagher during a change of command ceremony Jan. 6, 2024, at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. ... MORE

Virginia National Guard assisting with firefighting in Madison County
November 7, 2023 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division continue to provide aerial fire suppression support in Madison County, Virginia, to support wildfire fighting in the area... MORE

DiNonno takes command of 29th Infantry Division
August 8, 2023 — Brig. Gen. Joseph DiNonno took command of the 29th Infantry Division from Maj. Gen. John Rhodes Aug. 5, 2023, on the Long Parade Ground at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, presided over the exchange of organizational colors signifying the transfer of command from Rhodes to DiNonno.“Today we look... MORE

29th Infantry Division welcomes Hawley as top NCO
August 7, 2023 — Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Hawley took responsibility as the 29th Infantry Division’s top noncommissioned officer from Command Sgt. Maj. Daryl Plude during a change of responsibility ceremony Aug 5, 2023, at the Long Parade Ground, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, presided over the ceremony which... MORE

Expert Infantryman Badge awarded to 14 Soldiers
July 11, 2023 — What 121 Soldiers started, just 14 completed. After five days of testing - plus days, weeks and even years of preparation - 14 Soldiers, including four from the Virginia National Guard, earned their Expert Infantryman Badges June 15, 2023. During a ceremony held on the same Fort Barfoot field where their testing began, the U.S. Army’s newest EIB-holders were pinned with the infantry blue rectangular badge bearing a 1795 Springfield Arsenal Musket signifying that they had successfully completed a quest conquered by only around 15% of those who attempt it. ... MORE

New VNG NCO talks experience from pandemic to promotion
May 12, 2023 — In less than three years, Sgt. Khiyon Bond completed high school during the peak of the global pandemic, joined the National Guard, completed basic and advanced training, deployed to Kosovo and, most recently, became one of the Virginia Army National Guard’s newest noncommissioned officers... MORE

DiNonno to succeed Rhodes as 29th Infantry Division commanding general
April 24, 2023 — Brig. Gen. Joseph A. DiNonno has been selected to succeed Maj. Gen. John M. Rhodes as the commanding general of the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division, according to an announcement made April 21, 2023, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia... MORE

Flight dreams realized for new VNG Medevac commander
March 27, 2023 — As a little girl, the sound of helicopter rotor blades spinning over 1st Lt. Valerie Harter’s house would send her running. Her childhood home lay in the flight path of medical evacuation helicopters flying to and from her local hospital. When she heard the rotor blades, whatever she was doing was quickly forgotten and anything that blocked her path to a clear view of the aircraft overhead was demolished... MORE

116th IBCT welcomes new command team
March 9, 2023 — Col. Jared D. Lake and Command Sgt. Maj. Duane D. Wolfe took charge as the new command team for the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Col. Christopher J. Samulski and Command Sgt. Maj. Irving N. Reed Jr. March 5, 2023, in Staunton, Virginia. Maj. Gen. John M. Rhodes, 29th Infantry Division Commanding General, presided over the ceremony where Lake took command of the 116th from Samulski and Wolfe assumed responsibility from Reed as the brigade’s senior enlisted leader... MORE

Task Force Pegasus Soldiers honored in Williamsburg ceremony
February 21, 2023 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to Task Force Pegasus received the Virginia Governor’s National Service Medal during a ceremony Feb. 5, 2023, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Brig. Gen. James W. Ring, the VNG Director of the Joint Staff, presented the awards... MORE

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division receive the Air Medal during a ceremony held Feb. 5, 2023, in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Air Medal was awarded to the Soldiers for their life-saving actions taken while deployed as part of Task Force Pegasus and served as the aviation task force for NATO-led Kosovo Force Regional Command-East in 2022. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)

Governor commends VNG, families after year busy with mobilizations
December 7, 2022 — Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and the First Lady of Virginia Suzanne S. Youngkin hosted a reception for Virginia National Guard Soldiers, Airmen and their families Dec. 4, 2022, at Virginia’s Executive Mansion in Richmond, Virginia, to recognize the families of those personnel who are currently on federal active duty deployments. ... MORE

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