Virginia National Guard

183rd RTI graduates 1st female infantry Soldiers
May 21, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — For the first time in the history of the Virginia National Guard’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, women were among the graduates of the 11B Infantry Transition Course. Five female Soldiers were among 34 U.S. Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers who earned their blue cord May 18, 2019, after two grueling weeks of training at Fort Pickett, Virginia... MORE

WOCS welcomes new commander, recognizes new warrants
May 5, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — The Virginia National Guard’s Warrant Officer Candidate School welcomed a new commander and recognized the latest graduates of the program in back-to-back ceremonies held May 4, 2019, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. In the first ceremony, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joshua Martin took command of the Virginia National Guard’s WOCS from Chief Warrant Officer 4 Wayne Sexton. Martin is the first commander to also be a graduate of Virginia’s WOCS program... MORE

NCO takes Boston Marathon experience to VNG running team
May 2, 2019 — RICHMOND, Va. — Just a few short weeks after completing his long-time goal of running the Boston Marathon, Master Sgt. Ramon Abreu-Perez will lace up his running shoes on Sunday to run the National Guard Marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska. He ran his first marathon back in 2004 and has been racing ever since... MORE

Virginia National Guard commissions three new officers
April 17, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. – The Virginia National Guard welcomed three new second lieutenants from Officer Candidate School Class 62A at a commissioning ceremony held April 14, 2019, at Fort Pickett’s 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute. The newly commissioned officers successfully completed the accelerated OCS program in eight weeks at Fort McClellan, Alabama... MORE

VNG leaders tackle ACFT challenge
April 17, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — More than 20 leaders from the Virginia Army National Guard accepted the challenge offered by Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Smith, the Virginia Army National Guard’s state command sergeant major, to take the new Army Combat Fitness Test April 6, 2019, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The ACFT will become the U.S. Army’s official physical fitness test of record in less than two years and the event gave leaders a chance to experience it first-hand... MORE

Online, resident training now available for IPPS-A implementation
March 15, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Virginia — The Army’s new personnel and pay system is coming to Virginia this spring and its rollout will require Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers and leaders at all levels to complete various levels of training in order to take full advantage of its capabilities. The Integrated Personnel and Pay System Army, which is scheduled to go live in Virginia April 3, 2019, is an online human resources system that will provide integrated personnel, pay and talent management capabilities in a single system to all Army components for the first time ever... MORE

WOCs scrub, scratch during their community project
March 6, 2019 — CHESTER, Va. — Warrant Officer Candidates assigned to Class 19-001 of the Virginia National Guard’s Warrant Officer Candidate School, taught at the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute at Fort Pickett, assisted in sprucing up Smitty’s Cat Rescue, Feb. 23, 2019, to complete their community project requirement in Chester, Virginia... MORE

SMP cadets hone leadership, Soldier skills with help from 183rd RTI
February 20, 2019 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — The Virginia National Guard’s Simultaneous Membership Program allows ROTC cadets participating in their university’s ROTC program to also serve in the Virginia National Guard. During the past several months, those cadets enrolled in the SMP have been training with cadre assigned to the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The training is part of a pilot program designed to increase their leadership skills and prepare them for significant training events later this year... MORE

Virginia OCS dedicates building to Capt. Harry Q. Rose
October 3, 2018 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — An intimate gathering of Soldiers and family members marked the dedication of the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School building in honor of Capt. Harry Q. Rose Sept. 22, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia... MORE

(L-R) Helen Rose Creel, Lt. Col. Harry Gardner, Phyllis Rose Gardner and Albert Lee Creel stand next to the sign commemorating Capt. Harry Q. Rose, Sept. 22, 2018, at the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School building at Fort Pickett, Virginia. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Matt Lyman)

Virginia OCS dedicates building to Capt. Harry Q. Rose
October 3, 2018 — An intimate gathering of Soldiers and family members marked the dedication of the Virginia National Guard’s Officer Candidate School building in honor of Capt. Harry Q. Rose Sept. 22, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Rose graduated from OCS Class VI in 1966 and earned the honor graduate distinction after completing the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he first branched as an artillery officer... MORE

Air Assault & Pathfinder Schools held at Fort Pickett
September 5, 2018 — It was “Zero Day” of Air Assault School, Aug. 7, 2018, and for most of the 270 Soldiers gathered at Fort Pickett, their reason for being there was simple: They wanted to prove something... MORE

Virginia Army National Guard welcomes 14 new lieutenants
August 28, 2018 — The Virginia Army National Guard welcomed 14 new lieutenants to its ranks with the commissioning of Officer Candidate School Class 60 and 61B Aug. 25, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Class 60 was the traditional OCS program that runs nearly two years and taught by a cadre from the Fort Pickett-based 3rd Battalion, 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and Class 61B was the eight-week Accelerated OCS program at Fort McClellan, Alabama. The ceremony marked the end of the journey for the candidates as they took their oaths of office, received their OCS diplomas and their second lieutenant bars and delivered their first salute as new officers... MORE

The Virginia Army National Guard welcomes 14 new lieutenants to its ranks with the commissioning of Officer Candidate School Class 60 and 61B Aug. 25, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Class 60 was the traditional OCS program that runs nearly two years and taught by a cadre from the Fort Pickett-based 3rd Battalion, 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and Class 61B was the eight-week Accelerated OCS program at Fort McClellan, Alabama. The ceremony marked the end of a journey for the candidates as they took their oaths of office, received their OCS diplomas and their second lieutenant bars and delivered their first salute as new officers. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Matt Lyman)

Virginia Soldiers, Airmen awarded for marksmanship excellence
June 27, 2018 — Sixty-four Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen participated in this year’s Adjutant General’s State Pistol Match, held June 22-24, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. The event, hosted by the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute, had shooters split into 16 teams of four to test their marksmanship skills against some of the best shooters in the state and the nation. On Sunday, the top shooters gathered at the RTI for an awards ceremony that recognized the year’s top team and individual competitors... MORE

Hubbard takes command of 183rd RTI
June 26, 2018 — Col. Todd Hubbard took command of the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute from Col. James A. Zollar June 24, 2018, in a traditional change of command ceremony held at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Brig. Gen. Walter L. Mercer, Assistant Adjutant General – Army for the Virginia National Guard, presided over the guidon exchange that signified the transfer of command from Zollar to Hubbard... MORE

Virginia warrant officers take top honors at final WOCS phase
June 3, 2018 — The third and final phase of reserve component Warrant Officer Candidate School brings together National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve candidates from across the nation for two weeks of training. In April, Virginia’s candidates joined 40 of their peers at Fort McClellan in Alabama where they distinguished themselves as some of the best in the nation. On April 21, 2018, all eight of the warrant officer candidates enrolled in Class 18-001 of the Virginia National Guard’s Warrant Officer Candidate School graduated WOCS and became warrant officers. In May, the eight returned to the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute and were recognized for their outstanding success at WOCS. ... MORE

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