Virginia National Guard

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.

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

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)

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.

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

Virginia National Guard field artillery Soldiers explain the capabilities of the M119A2 howitzer, answer questions about the Guard and take 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.

Virginia Guard Soldier to serve as bobsled coach in 2014 Olympics
January 29, 2014 — First Lt. Michael Kohn, a Virginia National Guard Soldier assigned to the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, is among nine Soldiers in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program named as members of the U.S. Olympic Team who will compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, scheduled for Feb. 7 through 24 in Sochi, Russia... MORE

Soldiers from Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters return to Virginia after duty in Afghanistan
January 9, 2012 — Approximately 110 Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team Headquarters returned to Virginia Jan. 7 after serving on federal active duty in Afghanistan since early August 2011. The unit served as headquarters for Combined Team Zabul where it conducted full-spectrum counterinsurgency operations in Zabul Province in southeast Afghanistan, a region nearly the size of the State of New Jersey. They officially began federal active duty May 15, 2011 and mobilized with just 60 days notice... MORE

116th BCT HQs Soldiers return to Virginia after duty in Afghanis

First group of Soldiers from Task Force 183 returns to USA from duty in Iraq
December 2, 2011 — Approximately 120 Soldiers from the Suffolk-based Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team returned to the United States Dec. 1, 2011 after serving in Iraq since August 2011. The Soldiers will spend about seven to 10 days conducting a number of different administrative and reintegration training activities at their demobilization station at Camp Atterbury, Ind. to transition from active duty back to traditional National Guard status prior to returning to Virginia... MORE

TF 183 'CET' up for success in Iraq
October 3, 2011 — Convoys loaded down with supplies and equipment travel the roads of Iraq every day. Their goals are simply to get from point A to point B. In southern Iraq it is the mission of the Soldiers of the Task Force 183, also known as Task Force Recon, to ensure they make it safely. U.S. Forces continue to provide security for these convoys to keep up supplies for troops stationed throughout the country as well as to assist with the scheduled withdrawal by the end of 2011. For the Virginia National Guardsmen of Task Force 183 based out of Contingency Operating Base Adder, it is a mission they are determined to continue and succeed at... MORE

116th BCT Soldiers pin combat patch during ceremony in Afghanistan
August 15, 2011 — “There are less than 2,000 Soldiers who wear the 29th Infantry Division symbol as a combat patch,” said Col. Blake C. Ortner, commander, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Aug. 6 at Forward Operating Base Lagman, Afghanistan, to the 100 Soldiers of the 116th BCT, as part of an award ceremony recognizing their deployment to a combat zone... MORE

Archive by Year

News Archive by Category