Virginia National Guard

1710th TC Soldiers recognized for life-saving actions last summer
March 20, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — Last summer, on one of the final days of annual training for the 1710th Transportation Company, Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Johnson collapsed on the drill floor of the readiness center in Emporia, Virginia. Three Soldiers – Sgt. 1st Class Michelle Homer, Sgt. Christina So and Sgt. Gella Johnson – administered CPR for approximately six minutes before Johnson regained consciousness. ... MORE

Whitt selected as new 329th RSG command sergeant major
February 20, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. – Command Sgt. Maj. Dempsey O. Whitt was selected to serve as the new 329th Regional Support Group command sergeant major, according to an announcement made Jan. 1, 2019, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. Whitt succeeds Command Sgt. Maj. E. Tim Miller, who retired Dec. 7, 2018, after 30 years of service to the Virginia National Guard... MORE

Family bonds help military couple separated by deployment
February 14, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — This Valentine’s Day, Capt. Rachel Billmyer is deployed overseas with the 529th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion. Her fiancé, Capt. Joshua Morgan, is here in Virginia, working full-time as a program manager for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs while commanding the Virginia National Guard’s 237th Engineer Company. Both Billmyer and Morgan are familiar with the deployment process. “I’m the third person in my family to deploy since 2014,” Billmyer said. Both her parents serve in the National Guard and Morgan’s father retired a few years ago and all three have deployed within the past several years... MORE

Miller retires after 30 years of service
February 4, 2019 — VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — “Serve my country!” stated Pvt. E. Tim Miller when asked by a senior officer in 1988 why he enlisted in the Army National Guard. Although such a phrase sounds cliché today, 30 years later, now-Command Sgt. Maj. E. Tim Miller emphasized how Soldiers need to examine why they serve, and ultimately, it should be to simply, “serve our country.”... MORE

529th CSSB officially begins mission in the Middle East
January 13, 2019 — CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Soldiers of the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion assumed responsibility of their assigned battlefield sustainment operations on Jan. 1, 2019, and commemorated by a transfer of authority ceremony Jan. 7... MORE

Unit, family, friends gather to remember fallen VNG Soldiers 14 years later
December 22, 2018 — Two Virginia National Guard Soldiers killed Dec. 21, 2004, in a suicide bombing in Mosul, Iraq, were remembered by fellow Soldiers, family and friends with a wreath laying Dec. 21, 2018, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia... MORE

329th RSG conducts training to rapidly mobilize Soldiers
December 12, 2018 — Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group conducted reception and mission command exercises Nov. 25 – Dec. 9, 2018, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The 329th RSG was selected as one of the few military organizations assigned to be a Mission Support Force. MSFs have a unique and critical role to quickly mobilize thousands at a mobilization station in preparation for a deployment abroad... MORE

529th CSSB begins federal active duty with departure ceremony
November 25, 2018 — Hundreds of friends, family members and fellow Soldiers gathered in Virginia Beach to say farewell to a group of Virginia National Guard Soldiers as they began federal active duty Nov. 25, 2018... MORE

529th CSSB welcomes new noncommissioned officers
November 18, 2018 — Eight Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group joined the ranks of the noncommissioned officer corps during an induction ceremony Nov. 10, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. As part of the ceremony, four Soldiers presented “A Soldier’s Request,” and Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Coleman, the 529th CSSB command sergeant major, led them in the affirming the NCO Creed. The 529th is preparing for an upcoming federal mobilization to the Middle East... MORE

329th RSG conducts ceremony for transition to 54th FA Brigade patch
November 15, 2018 — Col. Doyle Gillis, Jr. commander of the Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group and Command Sgt. Maj. E. Tim Miller, command sergeant major of the 329th RSG conduct a ceremony on Nov. 3, 2018 at Fort Pickett, Virginia, to mark their transition to wearing the former patch of the 54th Field Artillery Brigade as their official brigade shoulder sleeve insignia. The ceremony included Col. K. Weedon Gallagher, who relinquished command of the 329th RSG to Gillis at a ceremony Sept. 9, 2018. Gallagher served as the catalyst behind the patch transition when he served as the commander of the 329th RSG between July 2015 and September 2018... MORE

Virginia Soldiers, Airmen race in 34th Army Ten Miler
October 15, 2018 — Around 35,000 runners crossed the start line of the 34th Army Ten Miler Oct. 7, 2018, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The race is the third largest 10 miler in the world. Several Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen ran the race, both as teams and as individuals, and one team, Team Jamestown, placed 3rd in the National Guard Mixed Division... MORE

Soldier Spotlight: Meet Sgt. Timothy Mahanes
October 10, 2018 — Sgt. Timothy Mahanes grew up around heavy equipment so, when he decided to join the Virginia National Guard, enlisting as a 12N, a horizontal construction engineer, was a natural fit... MORE

Gillis takes command of 329th Regional Support Group
September 22, 2018 — Col. Doyle Gillis, Jr., took command of the Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group from Col. K. Weedon Gallagher in a change of command ceremony Sept. 9, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Brig. Gen. Lapthe C. Flora, the Virginia National Guard Assistant Adjutant General- Army, presided over the exchange of unit colors that represented the transfer of command from Gallagher to Gillis. The National Anthem was performed by Gillis’ daughter, Evan Renee Winter... MORE

Virginia National Guard sending support to North Carolina
September 15, 2018 — The Virginia National Guard is sending approximately 40 Soldiers and 20 light medium tactical vehicles to support the North Carolina National Guard with recovery efforts after Hurricane Florence caused widespread flooding, and they departed Sept. 15, 2018. The VNG will keep a force of Soldiers on standby and postured for possible support to the Southwest Virginia region if needed, and personnel not on standby will return to routine operations... MORE

VNG Soldiers support security effort in Charlottesville
August 15, 2018 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assisted local and state law enforcement and provided aviation reconnaissance support to the Unified Command operating in Charlottesville during the anniversary of the Unite the Right rally August 10-12, 2018, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Unified Command consisted of law enforcement, fire and emergency services personnel from the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia as well as the Virginia State Police and multiple other localities with the primary goal of keeping citizens safe... MORE

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