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Recent Posts
- Virginia Army National Guard Funeral Honors Program performs at 10,000th funeral
- Adjutant General recognizes state employees at Fort Pickett
- Chief Master Sergeants tackle tough questions from 192nd Fighter Wing Junior Enlisted Council
- Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy begins Class 38 with 145 cadets
- Va. Transportation Company heeds the call, prepares to haul
Latest Tweets @VaNationalGuard
- Virginia Army @USNationalGuard Funeral Honors Program performs 10,000th funeral - http://t.co/ivcpYrs2 about 59 minutes ago from Tweet Button
- Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy begins Class 38 with 145 cadets - http://t.co/x1bmEugt about 2 hours ago from Tweet Button
- Loudoun County VFW conducts job training for Va. Guard Soldiers -http://t.co/YDpv5ALq about 5 hours ago from Tweet Button
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Va. Defense Force Archive
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Support missions for 57th Presidential Inauguration help Va. Guard prepare for future operations
Posted on January 27, 2013 | No CommentsSANDSTON, Va. — More than 600 Virginia Guard Soldiers and Airmen joined a force of approximately 6,000 National Guard personnel from 35 states and territories supporting the 57th Presidential Inauguration Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington, D. C. and Northern Virginia. The support from the Virginia Guard helped maintain the safety and security for the event, but it also helped prepare the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard and Virginia Defense Force to be able to anticipate requirements and rapidly respond for future known and no-notice events. “Our support to the inauguration was outstanding,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia. “I think anytime you can get Soldiers and Airmen on the ground, working... -
Public Safety Secretary thanks state public safety team
Posted on January 23, 2013 | No CommentsTo The State Public Safety Team: Congratulations to all on a job well done. I know that a great deal of time, energy and resources went into the Inauguration – preparing operations plans, executing the mission, and bringing everyone home safely. We truly appreciate the tremendous job done representing the Commonwealth. The professionalism and commitment demonstrated by Virginia’s public safety personnel was exceptional. I greatly appreciate the time and effort expended to train and direct your teams in a way that made things run so smoothly. Virginia is unique in the role we are called upon to play when national events occur. As I saw first-hand this weekend, like I have seen time and time again, our State Police, National... -
Virginia Guard personnel preparing for possible Hurricane Sandy recovery operations
Posted on October 26, 2012 | No CommentsSANDSTON, Va. — The Virginia National Guard has been authorized to bring up to 300 personnel on state active duty for possible severe weather recovery operations from Hurricane Sandy. The Virginia Guard will begin staging approximately 50 Army Guard and Virginia Defense Force personnel in the Eastern Shore area in order to be ready to support potential response missions, and all personnel are scheduled to be in place by Saturday evening. Additional personnel have been alerted for possible duty and will be held in reserve for possible future missions. About 50 Virginia Army Guard, Air Guard and VDF personnel are also on duty in Sandston at the Guard’s Joint Operations Center for mission command and sustainment support as well as... -
VDF holds annual training muster at Fort Pickett
Posted on September 30, 2012 | No CommentsFORT PICKETT, Va. — More than 200 members of the Virginia Defense Force took part in a variety of different training events focused on response package proficiency and improving professionalism Sept. 29 and 30, 2012, during the all-volunteer organization’s annual training muster at Fort Pickett. Training included professional development courses for staff officers and senior noncommissioned officers as well as a safety officer and NCO course and training for Incident Management Assistance Teams and Mobile Command Post operations. In addition, more than 60 new VDF members took part in Initial Entry Training that focused on basics like VDF history, customs and courtesies, drill and ceremony and map reading. “This is how we are increasing our level of readiness for our... -
Virginia National Guard personnel assist in the wake of severe thunderstorms
Posted on July 11, 2012 | No CommentsSANDSTON, Va. — The Virginia National Guard brought more than 200 personnel on state active duty from June 30 to July 4 to support recovery operations in the wake of severe thunderstorms that struck across Virginia and caused wide-spread power outages. Soldiers distributed water and ice in Bedford, conducted reconnaissance patrols in the Fredericksburg and Lexington areas and Soldiers, Airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force provided mission command and sustainment support in Sandston and Fort Pickett. “I was extremely pleased with the entire operation from how we alerted and staged our personnel to how we actually executed the missions,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia. “I think the Virginia Guard continues to be a rapidly... -
DMA members impacted by the F18 crash should contact Joint Operations Center
Posted on April 7, 2012 | No CommentsAny member of the Virginia Department of Military Affairs (Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard or Virginia Defense Force) impacted by the April 6 F-18 crash in Virginia Beach should contact the Virginia National Guard Joint Operations Center as soon as possible. Please call JOC at 804-236-7704 or 804-236-7705 with information about how you were impacted by the incident. Share -
Va. Guard Advisory: Virginia General Assembly to recognize Virginia National Guard with center aisle presentation March 6
Posted on March 4, 2012 | No CommentsMaj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, is scheduled to accept House Joint Resolution No. 396 in a center aisle presentation at the House of Delegates March 6, 2012 in Richmond on behalf of the approximately 10,000 members of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia Defense Force. Both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates agreed on the joint resolution celebrating the accomplishments of the Virginia National Guard in 2011. Representatives from the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard, Virginia Defense Force and the Virginia Guard’s civilian work force will join Long to represent the different organizations of the Virginia National Guard. Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, was the chief patron for the joint resolution.... -
Virginia Defense Force tests communications capabilities at Fort Pickett
Posted on February 14, 2012 | No CommentsFORT PICKETT, Va. — The Virginia Defense Force tested communication capabilities and provided a critical link to the Virginia Guard Joint Operations Center Feb. 11 when more than 120 Canadian Army Reserve personnel inprocessed into Fort Pickett. The event was part of an exercise to test the communication and administrative systems needed if Virginia were to receive military personnel from out of state in an emergency response situation. Formally known as the Joint Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration, or JRSOI, the process makes sure that proper accountability of personnel and equipment is established when additional forces came into the state. “This is a beta test for the remote JRSOI,” said Lt. Col. David Weisnicht, Fort Pickett’s full-time director of... -
Commander’s conference brings VDF leaders to Fort Pickett
Posted on February 9, 2012 | No CommentsFORT PICKETT, Va. — Leaders of the Virginia Defense Force from across the state gathered Feb. 4 at Fort Pickett for their annual commander’s conference to discuss the way ahead for the all-volunteer organization. Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, along with Senior Enlisted Leader Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Green provided an update on the Virginia National Guard as part of the morning session. Maj. Gen. (Va.) John Taylor, commander of the Virginia Defense Force, opened the conference by sharing his vision for the VDF that stressed professionalism and the importance of VDF response packages as part of the Virginia National Guard’s overall state response plan. “We are really proud of all of you, and...