Virginia National Guard > News - Category 29th Infantry Division

29th Infantry Division leads multinational wet gap crossing in Poland
June 20, 2024 — Polish, British and United States military forces came together for a wet gap crossing under the command and control of the Virginia National Guard’s Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division May 8, 2024, at the Drawsko Combat Training Center in Poland as part of U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s DEFENDER 24 exercise. The exercise, tied closely to NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercise, brought together nearly 40,000 service members from over 20 partner nations to train, test and validate the alliance’s ability to field and command a combat credible force in the European theater...

80th anniversary of D-Day observed abroad, at home
June 13, 2024 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers paid tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of the U.S. and Allied Forces who participated in the June 1944 invasion of Normandy and commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day at multiple events on and around June 6, 2024, in France, Virginia and Louisiana...

Task Force St. Lo Soldiers complete Operation Immediate Response 24 in Czech Republic
June 10, 2024 — Nearly 800 Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia National Guard Soldiers conducted annual training in May 2024 in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic as part of Operation Immediate Response 24, a sub-component exercise of STEADFAST DEFENDER 24...

NCO induction ceremony held for 14 new aviation battalion NCOs
June 5, 2024 — The Virginia National Guard’s Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division welcomed 14 Soldiers to the noncommissioned officer corps during an NCO Induaction Ceremony held June 1, 2024, at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Sandston, Virginia...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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