Virginia National Guard

Virginia Guard Commonwealth ChalleNGe program graduates 134 from Class 33
December 27, 2010 — The Virginia National Guard Commonwealth ChalleNGe program graduated 134 cadets from Class 33 Dec. 18 at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach. Commonwealth ChalleNGe is a free, statewide quasi-military program for at-risk teens who have dropped out of high school... MORE

Tajik officers join leaders from 183rd RTI, Virginia OCS for training seminar
October 7, 2010 — The 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute and the Virginia Officer Candidate School hosted a delegation of three Tajik field grade officers from the Tajikistan Military Institute, as well as Maj. Joe Gross, a U.S. Embassy liaison in Tajikistan, Sept. 20-24 as part of the State Partnership Program. The Tajiks participated in a workshop with OCS staff as they analyzed the current OCS Program of Instruction and tried to assimilate applicable areas into creating a 20-day program for their Institute graduates as they prepare to stand up a peacekeeping battalion... MORE

Virginia Guard helicopter crew helps firefighters battle fire at Henrico landfill
September 13, 2010 — A Virginia National Guard helicopter crew flying a Black Hawk helicopter equipped with a 600-gallon water bucket helped Henrico County firefighters contain a blaze Sept. 8 at The East End landfill... MORE

Lynchburg-based infantry battalion returns to Virginia from Iraqi duty
August 25, 2010 — Approximately 300 Soldiers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team returned to the United States Aug. 25, 2010, after serving in Iraq since March 2010. The Soldiers flew into the Roanoke Regional Airport where they were greeted by senior leaders of the Virginia Guard as well as World War II veterans from the 29th Infantry Division Association and then travelled by bus to be reunited with their family and friends in their home armories in Bedford, Christiansburg, Lexington and Lynchburg... MORE

Virginia’s Task Force Overlord prepares for Iraq departure
August 10, 2010 — A sandy windswept parking lot makes an unlikely backdrop for military pageantry, but the Soldiers and leadership of 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment from Lynchburg, Va., did their best to uphold the finest traditions of the Army at their End of Mission and Colors Casing ceremony Aug. 8, 2010, at Contingency Operating Base Adder. The ceremony marked the end of Task Force Overlord’s formal mission in Iraq... MORE

Medical personnel from the Virginia Guard and Defense Force host Tajikistan counterparts
June 17, 2010 — Members of the Virginia Defense Force and the Virginia Army and Air National Guard hosted medical officers from Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defense May 17-21 to discuss emergency medical response operations... MORE

Virginia Air Guard’s 203d RED HORSE helps with construction project on Arizona Navajo Reservation
June 2, 2010 — Airmen from the Virginia Beach-based 203d RED HORSE Squadron kicked off a special civil engineering project May 18 for renovation and construction work at St. Michaels Association for Special Education in Window Rock, Ariz. The 36 Airmen spent their two-week annual training period working on the project and returned to Virginia May 29... MORE

203d RED HORSE Squadron, family members honor lives lost on March 3, 2001
April 8, 2010 — Current and former 203d RED HORSE Squadron Airmen, family members and Virginia Air Guard leaders gathered for a memorial service recently to remember the 18 Virginia Air Guardsmen and three Florida Army Guardsmen who died in a military aviation crash on March 3, 2001... MORE

Virginia reinforces partnership with Tajikistan
March 25, 2010 — Virginia National Guard Soldiers completed a three-week visit to Tajikistan March 12 where they took part in high level discussions about the country’s security and military objectives as well as trained and mentored junior leaders in the Tajik military. The trip was the latest in a series of activities designed to strengthen the state partnership program between the Virginia Guard and Tajikistan... MORE

529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion conducts departure ceremony
March 25, 2010 — The Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group conducted a departure ceremony March 23 at the Sands Armory in Virginia Beach to mark the official start of the unit's federal active duty service. Approximately 80 Soldiers will operate as a command and control headquarters with the mission of planning and executing combat sustainment support for U.S. and coalition forces. The U. S. Army uses the term “sustainment” to describe a wide range of logistics support such as maintenance, food service, fueling, personnel and cargo transportation and medical support... MORE

203d RED HORSE in Florida for Operational Readiness Exercise with sister unit
January 28, 2010 — Nearly 70 Airmen with the 203d RED HORSE Squadron deployed to Camp Blanding, Fla., Jan. 27, 2010, ready to take part in an Operational Readiness Exercise with their sister unit, the 202nd RED HORSE Squadron... MORE

Virginia Department of Military Affairs plays key role in supporting Governor’s Inauguration
January 20, 2010 — Approximately 300 personnel from the Virginia Department of Military Affairs were on duty in Richmond Jan. 16, 2010, supporting the inauguration of Bob McDonnell as the 71st Governor of Virginia. Soldiers from the Virginia Army National Guard, Airmen from the Virginia Air National Guard and members of the Virginia Defense Force conducted a variety of missions including providing ceremonial music, firing a 19-gun salute, conducting a flyover with F-22 Raptors and providing command and control of the inaugural parade elements. A formation of Virginia Guard Soldiers and Airmen also led the inaugural parade... MORE

Virginia National Guard supports Gov. McDonnell Inauguration

Virginia ChalleNGe program graduates largest class in program history
January 14, 2010 — The Virginia National Guard’s Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy graduated the largest class in the history of the program Dec. 19 in a ceremony at Virginia Beach’s Ocean Lakes High School... MORE

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