Virginia National Guard

VNG full-time avionics team tackles high-flying challenges
April 15, 2024 — Tucked behind a blue door at the Virginia Army National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility is the organization’s avionics section. There, a small group of full-time Soldiers work to troubleshoot, diagnose and repair avionic components and wiring on a fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters... MORE

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... MORE

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... MORE

BAAF employees honored by Army National Guard
January 10, 2024 — Walter Tisdale was named ARNG Category 1 Airfield Manager of the Year, and John Olson was named Air Traffic Controller of the Year for 2023... MORE

HART practices mountain, cliff rescue at Crabtree Falls
November 15, 2023 — Above a forest aglow with fall’s foliage, the blades of Virginia National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters sliced through the air. Below, first responders from Chesterfield County and Wintergreen looked skyward as rescuers, simulated victims and an emergency litter were hoisted to and from the aircraft as part of a training event focused on cliff and mountain rescue. The training, which took place Oct. 25, 2023, at Crabtree Falls in Nelson County, Virginia, was the most recent training opportunity for Virginia’s Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, or HART, a team comprised of Virginia National Guard flight crews and personnel from the Chesterfield County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Scuba Rescue Team. ... MORE

Martin to succeed Gallagher as VNG Assistant Adjutant General - Army
November 14, 2023 — Col. Charles B. Martin Jr. will succeed Brig. Gen. K. Weedon Gallagher as the Virginia National Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General - Army according to an announcement made Nov. 6, 2023, by Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia... MORE

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... MORE

VNG NCO named to All-Guard Marathon Team, aims to snag BQ
November 1, 2023 — In 2020, Staff Sgt. James A. Potteiger ran his first marathon in Richmond, Virginia. When he signed up, he was still new to the recreational running world. He’d put his speed to the test during a few local 5Ks, but in signing up for the Richmond Marathon, he took things to the next level. He signed up for the Richmond Challenge, which meant he’d run not just the Richmond Marathon, but the Richmond Half Marathon and 8K as well. His time for the marathon that year was 5:21:11, with a pace of more than 12 minutes per mile... MORE

VNG fixed-wing detachment named “Unit of the Year”
May 15, 2023 — The Virginia National Guard’s Chesterfield-based Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 2-245th Aviation Regiment was recently named the Army National Guard East Region Unit of the Year for Fiscal Year 2022 according to an announcement by the Joint Operational Support Airlift Center... MORE

Flight dreams realized for new VNG Medevac commander
March 27, 2023 — As a little girl, the sound of helicopter rotor blades spinning over 1st Lt. Valerie Harter’s house would send her running. Her childhood home lay in the flight path of medical evacuation helicopters flying to and from her local hospital. When she heard the rotor blades, whatever she was doing was quickly forgotten and anything that blocked her path to a clear view of the aircraft overhead was demolished... MORE

Task Force Pegasus Soldiers honored in Williamsburg ceremony
February 21, 2023 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to Task Force Pegasus received the Virginia Governor’s National Service Medal during a ceremony Feb. 5, 2023, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Brig. Gen. James W. Ring, the VNG Director of the Joint Staff, presented the awards... MORE

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division receive the Air Medal during a ceremony held Feb. 5, 2023, in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Air Medal was awarded to the Soldiers for their life-saving actions taken while deployed as part of Task Force Pegasus and served as the aviation task force for NATO-led Kosovo Force Regional Command-East in 2022. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)

Governor commends VNG, families after year busy with mobilizations
December 7, 2022 — Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and the First Lady of Virginia Suzanne S. Youngkin hosted a reception for Virginia National Guard Soldiers, Airmen and their families Dec. 4, 2022, at Virginia’s Executive Mansion in Richmond, Virginia, to recognize the families of those personnel who are currently on federal active duty deployments. ... MORE

Gloucester JROTC cadets visit Virginia National Guard aviation facility
November 30, 2022 — Gloucester High School’s junior ROTC cadets gained a peek into the Virginia Army National Guard’s aviation capabilities during a visit Nov. 8, 2022, to the Army Aviation Support Facility, in Sandston, Virginia. The event was organized with support from the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion and included 18 cadets, all juniors and seniors at Gloucester High... MORE

Junior ROTC cadets from Gloucester High School visit the Virginia National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility for a tour and information session Nov. 8, 2022, in Sandston, Virginia. The event, organized by recruiters from the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion, included 18 naval JROTC cadets, all juniors and seniors, who received an overview of the U.S. Army and the capabilities of the Virginia National Guard’s Army aviation assets before touring the maintenance facility and a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)

HART demonstrates hoist capabilities for SWVA emergency managers
November 22, 2022 — Virginia National Guard aviation crews and Chesterfield County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Scuba Rescue Team members provided a hoist rescue capability demonstration for emergency managers from across southwestern Virginia Nov. 16, 2022, in Tazewell, Virginia. ... MORE

VNG aviation battalion ends mission in Kosovo
October 14, 2022 — The Virginia National Guard's Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division officially ended its mission in Kosovo as Kosovo Force’s Regional Command-East welcomed the Soldiers of their new aviation task force during a transfer of authority ceremony Oct. 11, 2022, at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo... MORE

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