Virginia National Guard

Red Dragons take over security mission in Qatar
July 13, 2016 — Two Virginia Army National Guard units charged with the responsibility for security at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, conducted a Relief In Place/Transfer of Authority ceremony July 11, 2016. Soldiers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, also known as the Red Dragons, assumed responsibility for the mission from the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, also known as Task Force Normandy... MORE

Va. National Guard personnel assist flood response operations in Alleghany, Botetourt counties
June 25, 2016 — The Virginia National Guard activated 20 Soldiers with Humvees and light/medium tactical trucks to assist with flood response operations in Alleghany and Botetourt counties June 24, 2016, after the Governor of Virginia declared a state of emergency the night before. Soldiers from the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team quickly responded and were on location and ready for duty within 12 hours of the start of alert notifications... MORE

Va. National Guard personnel assist flood response operations in Alleghany and Botetourt counties

116th IBCT Soldiers demonstrate training proficiency during AT
June 22, 2016 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team demonstrated a high level of proficiency that met and exceeded expectations for their “ready year” during annual training June 4-18, 2016, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. With two battalions on federal mobilization and multiple companies having conducted training center rotations earlier in the year, the brigade had a smaller footprint on the ground at Fort Pickett, but all of those Soldiers demonstrated they would have been ready to go if called... MORE

Smith takes command of 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
June 6, 2016 — Col. E. Scott Smith takes command of the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Col. William J. Coffin June 5, 2016, in a traditional change of command ceremony at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Brig. Gen. Walter L. Mercer, the Virginia National Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General – Army, presided over the exchange of unit colors that represented the transfer of command from Coffin to Smith... MORE

Family, friends, senior leaders bid farewell to the Red Dragons
May 18, 2016 — Senior leaders from state government and the Virginia National Guard, family, friends and fellow Soldiers bid farewell to the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team at multiple departure events May 14-16, 2016... MORE

Transfer of Authority Ceremony held for 116th MET
May 11, 2016 — Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard’s 30th Military Engagement Team transferred authority to the Virginia National Guard’s 116th Military Engagement Team in a ceremony held May 8, 2016, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait... MORE

Va. Soldiers take first place at 37th BEB Sapper Stakes competition
May 10, 2016 — A squad of Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Fredericksburg-based 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 116th IBCT took first place in the Sapper Stakes competition conducted by the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 37th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division May 7, 2016, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The team navigated multiple stations including emplacement of a wire obstacle, leadership reaction course, obstacle course, rope bridge urban breach and M4 rifle qualification. A total of 18 teams took part in the competition, and the Virginia Guard engineers completed the course in seven hours and five minutes, 14 minutes ahead of the second place team. Soldiers from the 116th BSTB joined engineers from the 37th BEB for numerous training opportunities at Fort Pickett that was part of an ongoing partnership between the two units... MORE

Va. Guard Soldiers help evacuate injured hiker
April 26, 2016 — Virginia National Guard combat engineers put years of military training and experience to work when they helped a volunteer search and rescue crew evacuate an injured hiker off Old Rag Mountain April 24, 2016, in the Shenandoah National Park near Madison County, Virginia... MORE

116th MET completes pre-mobilization training
March 11, 2016 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Staunton-based 116th Military Engagement Team, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team came together for three weeks of intensive training Feb. 15. – March 5, 2016, at Fort Pickett, Virginia, in preparation for their upcoming federal mobilization to Kuwait and Jordan... MORE

116th IBCT Soldiers gain valuable experience supporting JRTC rotation at Fort Polk
March 6, 2016 — Nearly 150 Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team traveled to Fort Polk, Louisiana, from Feb. 11 to March 1, 2016, to provide support to the Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 16-04... MORE

Smith to command 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
February 23, 2016 — Col. E. Scott Smith will succeed Col. William J. Coffin as the commander of the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to an announcement made Feb. 23, 2016, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia... MORE

Virginia National Guard to close readiness center in Chatham
February 4, 2016 — The Virginia National Guard will close its readiness center in Chatham, Virginia, according to an announcement made Feb. 4, 2016, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. The unit and approximately 40 Soldiers currently stationed there will relocate to the readiness center in nearby Danville beginning in March 2016. Williams and senior Guard leaders met with local officials to explain the decision and answer questions about the planned closure... MORE

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

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

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