From the establishment of the Virginia Colony in 1607, service in the militia was compulsory for most free males.  In 1644, free Black colonists (most of whom were formerly enslaved) also enlisted in the militia.  The militia’s primary purposes were to repel invasions and enforce the colony’s laws.

The main infantry weapons of this time were the single shot matchlock musket and the pike.  The musket could take as long as a minute to reload, and had no bayonet to protect against enemy cavalry.  To guard the musketeers as they fired and loaded, other militia members were armed with 18-foot spears called “pikes.”

This steel armor protected against Indigenous populations’ stone-tipped weapons.  Many similar armor artifacts have been uncovered in archaeological excavations of Jamestown.

During the French and Indian War (1755 – 1763), locally raised militia units participated in some active campaigning and defended key frontier posts.  One of the larger and better-known militia units was formed in Augusta County, but other counties and towns also contributed militia forces.

The story of American independence would be incomplete without recognizing the Virginia National Guard’s vital, yet often misunderstood or overlooked, roles in the Revolutionary War.  The 116th Infantry Regiment holds the oldest unbroken lineage to Virginia’s Revolutionary War militia—units credited with participation in seven key battles, including Cowpens, Guilford Court House, and Yorktown, as well as five campaign credits. The 176th Infantry and 276th Engineer Battalion trace even earlier roots, but due to brief periods of inactivation in modern times, can no longer claim unbroken lineage.

The museum’s upcoming exhibition, The army Before the Army: Virginia County Militia in the Revolutionary War, will examine distinctions between the Continental Army and Virginia militia, how these forces collaborated, and how new interpretations of militia roles can reshape public understanding.  Virginia Governor Thomas Nelson Jr.’s command of 3,500 militia during the Siege of Yorktown, for example, will serve as a case study in local leadership, militia positioning strategies, and post-battle duties—areas often underrepresented in traditional Revolutionary War scholarship and school curricula.

War erupted again in 1812.  Virginia’s initial role in this second war with Britain was small, but over 400 Virginia militia deployed to Fort Meigs in Ohio during the winter of 1812-1813.

On June 22, 1813, during the Battle of Craney Island, Virginia militia and federal naval forces repelled a British amphibious attack intended to open the Elizabeth River approaches to Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the Gosport Navy Yard. The Portsmouth Light Artillery, under Capt. Arthur Emmerson and serving within the island’s artillery defense, helped turn back the British assault.

Today, the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Battalion, 183rd Cavalry in Portsmouth carry that lineage.

The Mexican-American War resulted from the United States annexing Texas in 1845.  Thirty-five thousand U.S. Army troops and 73,000 state volunteers fought in the conflict.  Most volunteer regiments came from Southern states such as Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia.

The First Regiment Virginia Volunteers carried this 27-star national flag in the war.   The Regiment was organized in Richmond in January 1847, and after regular drill training at Fortress Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, it sailed to Brazos Island, Texas in March of that year.  The troops then proceeded on foot to Buena Vista, where they joined General Zachary Taylor’s army under the command of General John E. Wool.

Except for occasional skirmishes with small Mexican scouting and patrol parties, the Virginians saw very little combat.  However, their garrison duty at Monterrey and Buena Vista was an important and valuable contribution to the American Generals’ success.

After the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was ratified on May 19, 1848, the Virginians began their journey home by foot, steamship, and the U.S.S. Ohio, one of the finest gunships in the American Navy.  Traveling via the Indies, they returned to Fortress Monroe in July 1848 and were mustered out on August 1, 1848.

In 1851, several Richmond-area militia regiments consolidated to form the First Regiment, Virginia Volunteers, headquartered in Richmond. The regiment’s roster changed during the 1850s as companies formed, disbanded, and changed names.

At the beginning of the Civil War, the First Virginia Regiment’s established volunteer companies provided experienced soldiers and officers for Virginia’s expanding Confederate forces. In April 1861, the original Richmond Grays, then Company A, were detached for service at Norfolk. The company later became Company G of the 12th Virginia Infantry. A separate company of Richmond Grays served as Company H in the First Virginia Infantry.

The First Virginia Infantry’s organizational lineage is perpetuated today by Headquarters, 276th Engineer Battalion, Virginia Army National Guard, headquartered in Petersburg.

The Museum of the Virginia National Guard preserves this remnant from a silk national flag the Richmond Gray’s ladies auxiliary commissioned for them in 1859.  They paid $70 to Mr. George Ruskell of Richmond, who had the flag made by Horstman and Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

The Richmond Grays likely carried the flag to John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry or for his execution, but did not carry it in Civil War battle.  Instead, Captain Louis Bossieux’s wife kept it safe until the unit was reorganized after the war in 1871.

The flag was originally six feet wide and four-and-a-half feet high, but the unit began cutting away pieces in the late 1880s to give to Richmond Grays members as gifts.

Virginia’s militia system had to be rebuilt after the Civil War.  After Virginia was formally readmitted to representation in Congress in 1870 and federal occupation forces withdrew, the Commonwealth began rebuilding its state military establishment under the supervision of the adjutant general.  By 1871, the Commonwealth’s organized military companies were being reconstituted as the “Virginia Volunteers.”

Unlike Virginia’s earlier enrolled militia system—which legally obligated large numbers of adult men to serve periodically for local defense—the Virginia Volunteers consisted of smaller, organized volunteer companies whose members chose to join, elected or received officers, trained more regularly, acquired standardized uniforms and equipment, and operated as the Commonwealth’s primary organized military force during the late nineteenth century.  

After the Civil War, the federal government forbade Virginia and other formerly Confederate states from reorganizing their militias during the Reconstruction era.  Veterans of the Richmond Howitzers—which had comprised four batteries during the war—began gathering as a social club, without uniforms or issued equipment, to conduct “military-type” training in anticipation of future reorganization.

Some members fabricated this wooden cannon for practice until real artillery became available.  The Virginia Volunteers began reorganizing their units, including the Richmond Howitzers, in 1871, although the battery and the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues were not issued cannons until 1873.

African-American men served in militia organizations during Reconstruction in parts of the South, including Virginia, particularly while federal Reconstruction policies and Republican state governments remained influential.  Military service carried renewed meaning because participation in militia organizations symbolized citizenship, public authority, and the right to bear arms.

As Reconstruction ended and state military systems were reorganized across the country, opportunities for African-Americans within organized militia and volunteer forces became increasingly limited.  Virginia reflected broader national military patterns in which Black service members often served in segregated or restricted organizations within a racially segregated American military system that continued into the twentieth century.

On February 15, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine off the coast of Cuba. None of the four Virginia National Guard regiments activated during the Spanish-American War saw combat.  However, of the 4,437 soldiers who served, 68 died of disease.  Of those, 43 were members of the 4th Virginia Regiment, which served as a garrison force in Havana, Cuba.  The remaining deaths occurred in training camps within the United States.  This war marked the last time more American soldiers died from disease than from combat.

In 1898, two Virginia battalions of African-American Soldiers were mustered into federal service in support of the war.  (From 1871 until 1898, Virginia had twenty African-American companies.)  Once on federal active duty, the battalions formed the 6th Virginia Volunteers. While the men of these units never saw combat, they trained in Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia before returning home.

When the 6th Virginia Volunteers was disbanded in 1899, no African-Americans were permitted to serve in the Virginia National Guard again until 1965. 

Following the shortcomings revealed during the Spanish–American War, Congress enacted the Militia Act of 1903—commonly known as the “Dick Act”—to modernize the nation’s state militia systems and integrate them more closely with the Regular Army.  The law formally divided the militia into an “organized militia,” designated as the National Guard, and an “unorganized militia.”  It also established new federal standards for training, organization, equipment, and readiness.  Guardsmen were required to participate in regular drill instruction and annual field training in order for states to receive federal funding and equipment.  As part of these reforms, Virginia gradually replaced the older designation “Virginia Volunteers” with the title “Virginia National Guard,” reflecting the transition from a traditional volunteer militia force into a standardized reserve component aligned with the U.S. Army.

Additional reforms followed in the Militia Act of 1908, which further strengthened federal oversight and authorized the National Guard for overseas service when federalized.

On June 3, 1916, Congress enacted the National Defense Act of 1916, one of the most significant military reform laws in American history.  This legislation formally established the National Guard as the United States’ primary organized reserve force, expanded federal funding, increased required training standards, and more closely integrated state Guard units into the Army’s wartime structure.  Guardsmen were now required to swear both state and federal oaths of service, and the president received expanded authority to mobilize the National Guard for national emergencies and overseas operations.  These reforms completed the transformation of Virginia’s former volunteer militia system into the modern Virginia National Guard.

After Mexican bandits raided Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916 and fled back across the border, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U.S. Army to pursue them into Mexico.  Of the nearly 100,000 National Guardsmen mobilized to protect the border from further attacks, 4,000 were from Virginia.  They comprised two infantry regiments, a field artillery battalion, a cavalry squadron, and companies of engineers and signal troops.  Most Virginia units returned home in early 1917 after serving six months on the border.

America declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.  By July, the Virginia National Guard was on active duty and soon moved to Camp McClellan in Alabama to train.  Among these units were the 1st and 2nd Companies of the Virginia Coast Artillery Corps (VCAC), from Roanoke and Lynchburg, respectively.  They entered active duty on April 16, 1917, and quickly relocated to their duty station at Fort Monroe, where they began training to defend Hampton Roads.

By late summer, several VCAC batteries were transferred to other assignments.  Companies 1 and 2 were reassigned to the newly organized 42nd “Rainbow” Division, which was then training in New York.  This division was composed of National Guard units from 26 states and included such famous units as the 69th New York Infantry (part of the “Irish Brigade” during the Civil War) and the 4th Alabama Infantry, which had fought against the 69th at Fredericksburg.  Now, they served in the same brigade to fight a common enemy, though the Virginians’ military police (MPs) had to break up one significant brawl between the two units.

The two Virginia batteries were redesignated as Companies A and B, 117th Train Headquarters and Military Police.  While the Train Headquarters was responsible for the division’s logistical operations, the Virginians had no role in that function.  Instead, they were retrained and assigned to serve as the division’s Military Police component.

The division deployed to France in early 1918 and was soon engaged in combat.  The 117th MPs performed various duties behind enemy lines, including directing traffic and taking charge of prisoners.  The POWs were moved to the 42nd Division’s holding area, where their basic information was collected, and they were screened for intelligence materials before being transferred to more permanent POW camps deeper in France.

The companies were credited with the six campaigns earned by the 42nd during the First World War, but only Company B, the “Lynchburg Home Guard,” is perpetuated in the Virginia National Guard today as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, an element of the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Two Virginia members of the 117th were decorated for valor in combat.  Corporal Wade Miller from Hopewell was awarded the French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War), and Private Charles Hammond of Roanoke received the Distinguished Service Cross.

As part of the formation of the 29th Division during World War I, the Army reorganized Virginia National Guard units at Camp McClellan into key components of the new division.  At Camp McClellan, the Army consolidated Virginia’s infantry regiments into a single unit, redesignated as the 116th Infantry, part of the newly organized 29th Division.  The state’s field artillery units were merged to form the 111th Field Artillery, also assigned to the 29th Division.  The 1st Virginia Cavalry was also redesignated as the 104th Ammunition Train within the division.

While at Camp McClellan, the 29th Division adopted the nickname it still carries today: the “Blue and Gray.”  Reflecting the members’ origins from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia, the colors symbolized the unification of their Union and Confederate heritages as the units joined together to serve in World War I.

On October 8, 1918, the 29th Division served as an assault element in the great Allied offensive known as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  By late October, the division was pulled from the front lines to rest and prepare for a follow-up attack—an operation that never took place, as the war ended with the Armistice on November 11, 1918.

The 29th Division trained for the Second World War at Fort Meade in Maryland before being reorganized, with the 176th Infantry and the 29th Tank Company reassigned to other units. The 116th Infantry remained in the division, joined by two infantry regiments from Maryland.  The 111th Field Artillery Regiment was divided into two units: the 111th Field Artillery Battalion, with three firing batteries armed with 105mm howitzers for direct support of frontline infantry, and the 227th Field Artillery Battalion, equipped with three batteries of heavier 155mm howitzers for longer-range fire.

The 29th Division arrived in Great Britain in October 1942 and began intensive training.  On the morning of June 6, 1944—now forever known as “D-Day”—the division took part in the largest amphibious invasion in history, landing on five beaches along the coast of Normandy, France.  One beach in particular, codenamed “Omaha,” holds special significance in Virginia history.  Nicknamed “Bloody Omaha,” it saw over 800 members of the 116th Infantry killed, wounded, or reported missing during the assault.  The 111th Field Artillery also fought on D-Day but lost most of its equipment during the landing.  Thirty-two members of the battalion were killed helping to secure a foothold on Omaha Beach.

After D-Day, the 29th Division went on to fight in major battles at St. Lô, Brest, Jülich, and other locations until the war in Europe ended with Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945.

During its 335 days of combat, the 116th Infantry suffered 7,113 casualties—killed, wounded, or missing.  The 111th Field Artillery Battalion lost 43 men killed in action, including 32 on D-Day.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States undertook a major reorganization of its air forces to preserve combat experience while transitioning to a peacetime structure.  As part of this effort, the War Department and the Pentagon reallocated distinguished wartime units into the emerging Air National Guard.

In May 1946, the lineage of the World War II–era 328th Fighter Squadron—originally organized at Mitchell Field in Long Island, New York on October 10, 1942—was redesignated as the 149th Fighter Squadron.  During the Second World War, the 328th had served in the European Theater of Operations, contributing to Allied air superiority and tactical air missions.

The newly designated 149th Fighter Squadron was allotted to the Virginia Air National Guard and organized at Sandston, Virginia, near Richmond.  It received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau in June 1947, formally establishing it as an operational unit within the postwar Air National Guard structure.

Through this process, the 149th inherited the lineage, honors, and traditions of the 328th Fighter Squadron.  This continuity reflects a broader military practice: preserving the institutional memory and combat achievements of wartime units by embedding them within modern formations, ensuring that their legacy endures in both identity and mission.

The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 marked the first large-scale federal mobilization of the Air National Guard, and Virginia’s air units were among those called to active duty as the United States rapidly expanded its military forces.  Nationwide, President Harry S. Truman ordered the federalization of most Air National Guard units beginning in late 1950, eventually mobilizing roughly 45,000 airmen—about 80 percent of the force—to reinforce both combat operations in Korea and air defense missions elsewhere in the world.

Although no Virginia Air National Guard units deployed to Korea as complete organizations, their stateside mobilization was part of a broader strategy of freeing active-duty Air Force personnel for combat service.

Virginia’s primary flying unit at the time, the 149th Fighter Squadron, based at Byrd Field in Richmond, was ordered to active federal service on March 1, 1951.  The squadron was sent first to Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, where it joined a federalized fighter-bomber organization supporting Strategic Air Command training requirements by flying escort missions for bomber training operations.  Later in 1951, the unit moved to Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky, where it assumed air defense and training responsibilities previously carried out by an active-duty unit redeployed overseas.

Many Virginia airmen, including a large number of World War II veterans, served as individual replacements or in support roles within the expanding U.S. Air Force during the conflict.  All mobilized Virginia Air National Guard personnel were released from federal service and returned to state control between 1952 and 1953, part of a broader nationwide demobilization in which most Air National Guard units were released by 1952, with administrative reorganization continuing through 1955.

The Korean War mobilization demonstrated the growing importance of the Air National Guard as an operational reserve and led to major reforms that integrated Guard units more closely into the U.S. Air Force’s Cold War defense structure

By November 1953, the unit was reorganized as a B-26 bomber outfit and was redesignated in 1957 as the 149th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.  Initially slated to receive F-86E Sabre jets, the unit was instead converted later that year to the 149th Tactical Fighter Squadron, equipped with F-84F Thunderstreaks.

At least five Virginia Army National Guard units were ordered into active federal service between 1950 and 1952.  Available records confirm that three of these were antiaircraft artillery (AAA) units, reflecting the continued importance of continental air defense during the early Cold War.  Identifiable Virginia units mobilized during this period include elements of the:

• 246th Antiaircraft Artillery Group (Virginia Army National Guard)
• (Associated subordinate AAA battalions and batteries under the 246th Group)

These units were typically assigned to installations within the continental United States, where they conducted air defense missions, training, and installation security.  Their role was central to national strategy—by maintaining air defense readiness and supporting mobilization infrastructure at home, these Virginia Guardsmen enabled the rapid deployment of active-duty combat units to Korea.

Importantly, no Virginia Army National Guard unit deployed to Korea as an intact formation.  Instead, many soldiers from these mobilized units were later reassigned individually as replacements to units already engaged in combat on the peninsula.  In this way, Virginia Guardsmen contributed directly to the war effort, even as their parent organizations fulfilled essential operational roles within the United States.

The mobilization of Virginia’s AAA units underscores a broader reality: the Korean War was not fought solely in East Asia, but as part of a global defense posture.  Guard units stationed in the United States formed a critical layer of homeland defense and strategic depth, ensuring that the United States could fight in Korea while remaining prepared for wider conflict.

At the height of Cold War tensions in 1961, the 149th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was federalized due to the Berlin Crisis.  It remained in an active duty status in Richmond for around a year before being released.  In December 1961, twenty-two Virginia Air National Guard members deployed to Chaumont Air Base, France, for eight months to support the 7180th Tactical Fighter Wing, a deployed unit of the 108th Tactical Fighter Wing.

In October 1962, the unit was redesignated as the 192nd Tactical Fighter Group, with the 149th Tactical Fighter Squadron becoming the group’s flying squadron.  Additional squadrons assigned to the group included the 192nd Headquarters, 192nd Materiel Squadron (Maintenance), 192nd Combat Support Squadron, and the 192nd USAF Dispensary.

In 1971, the 192nd was assigned the F-105D Thunderchief, a supersonic fighter-bomber that had proven itself in the Vietnam War. The group’s special taskings over the next decade included several deployments to Red Flag live fire exercises in Nevada and to Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath in England in 1976.

In 1981, the unit transitioned to the Vought A-7D Corsair II, a subsonic jet designed primarily for close air support.  Over the next decade, it deployed to Ecuador, Norway, and Panama to help defend the Panama Canal.  A Virginia contingent competed in Gunsmoke ’85, the Air Force’s premier tactical fighter competition, where the 192nd was named the world’s “Best A-7 Unit.”  The wing also earned the General Spruance Safety Award and was recognized for the best Operational Readiness Inspection in the Ninth Air Force in 1985. These accomplishments culminated in the unit receiving its first USAF Outstanding Unit Award in 1987.

While many pre-war 29th Division units—such as the 116th Infantry and 111th Field Artillery—were reorganized during this period, new units were also created and added to state rosters to help defend the continental United States against the growing Soviet threat.  Among these were anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) battalions tasked with protecting Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and the Hampton Roads region from enemy air attacks.  Initially equipped with World War II-era anti-aircraft guns, units such as Virginia’s 129th and 418th AAA Battalions were soon upgraded with Nike-Ajax surface-to-air missiles.

By 1951, the 29th was essentially a Maryland and Virginia-based National Guard division.  The April 1951 strength reports for the National Guard showed Maryland with 4,244 men in uniform and Virginia with 4,359.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy mobilized the National Guard in response to a Russian provocation in the occupied and divided city of Berlin. Constructing what came to be known as the “Berlin Wall,” the Russians had managed to seal off the American, French, and British sectors from the rest of Berlin and Germany. By the fall of 1961, over 40,000 National Guardsmen had been brought on active duty and some twenty Air National Guard squadrons had deployed to Europe, mostly to Germany. Though many Army Guard units were activated during the Berlin Wall crisis, none actually deployed overseas. 

1968 proved to be a traumatic year for the soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division. The Army was reorganizing again, and this time it was the fate of the 29th to be inactivated. This left two infantry brigades: the 116th in Virginia, the 58th in Maryland. For the next seventeen years, the two brigades and other state units in Virginia and Maryland would wear different shoulder patches. For the old soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division, having to remove their “Blue and Gray” patch was just one more blow. With reputations, recruiting, and morale at their very lowest, many began to wonder how things could possibly get worse.

Under the leadership of Secretary of the Army (and former Virginia Army Guard lieutenant colonel) John O. Marsh, Jr., the 29th Infantry Division was brought back on line in 1985 as a Virginia-Maryland organization.

1988 – training photo.

One final and very important event occurred in this period, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. When the Berlin Wall was opened, it marked the end of communist domination of Eastern Europe. Many people began speaking of a “peace dividend,” that the need for a large standing military should be at an end too. Future events would soon moderate that opinion.

Although many northern states had begun integrating their units as early as 1947, many of the National Guard units in southern states remained closed to most non-white males and all females. The Civil Rights Act of 1965 ensured African American men were allowed to join all National Guard units.

In the late 1960s, Staff Sergeant John Lewis, a World War II Army veteran, became the first African American to join the Virginia National Guard since the inactivation of African American militia units at the end of the 19th century.

Before 1970, the only women allowed in Guard units were nurses. With the abolishment of the draft in 1973, people of color and women were suddenly seen as an important and untapped recruiting pool. By 1990 approximately 20 percent of the Virginia Guard was composed of African Americans and other minorities.

In 1965 the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Tactical Clinic accepted two female nurses as part of its hospital operation making them the first females in the VANG. Since the VaARNG had no medical units authorized nurses, there were no spaces available for women to join the Army Guard. This changed when in 1972 Congress amended the law to allow enlisted women to be accepted. The VAARNG got its first female soldier in 1973. By 1990 approximately seven percent of the Virginia Guard consisted of female soldiers and airmen.

The first female Guardsman joined in 1973.

The Vietnam War had begun as a civil war in a Southeast Asian country and quickly became a test bed for President Kennedy’s measured response in confronting Communism. With the deployment of major Army and Marine ground forces in 1965, the war’s impact on American society grew exponentially. Almost simultaneously, the combined outbreak of violence in inner-cities and anti-war protests on college campuses began to share the headlines with the war overseas. President Lyndon Johnson deliberately decided not to activate the Guard and Army Reserve for combat duty in Viet Nam, perhaps fearing that it would worsen the backlash to what was already becoming an extremely unpopular conflict.

The 1970s, however, saw an increased emphasis on the National Guard’s role in providing the Army with combat units.

Placeholder.

On December 20, 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause—an emergency deployment of U.S. forces to Panama to remove Manuel Noriega from power, dismantle his army, and pave the way for democratic elections.  On January 20, 1990, the Virginia Air National Guard deployed fifty-nine Guardsmen and five A-7 Corsair aircraft to Howard Air Force Base near Panama City to begin their rotation.  The 192nd replaced the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Tactical Fighter Group, whose A-7 pilots had flown seventy-six sorties in support of the operation.

Two weeks later, Virginia sent another contingent to relieve the initial group.  Unlike previous missions, this one required a greater security posture.  Elements of the Panamanian Defense Forces and Dignity Battalions were suspected to still be active in rural provinces.  The 192nd pilots provided air cover and reconnaissance support for field operations where enemy activity was believed to be present.

Headquarters, 192nd Tactical Fighter Group and the 192nd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron later earned campaign streamers for their roles in Operation Just Cause.

In 1991, the Virginia Air National Guard entered a new era of aviation technology when it became the first Air National Guard unit to receive the upgraded F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.  In 1992, the unit’s designation was shortened from the 192nd Tactical Fighter Group to the 192nd Fighter Group, reflecting the retirement of the Tactical Air Command and the creation of the multi-role Air Combat Command.  Initially, the unit was assigned twenty-four single-seat F-16C models and two F-16D models.  However, by early 1994, defense cutbacks reduced the fleet to eighteen aircraft, and eventually to fifteen.

Virginia National Guard units supported Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm with two truck companies, two engineer headquarters companies, a helicopter aeromedical evacuation detachment, a military police company, a personnel services company, and a military history detachment.  A total of 710 Virginia Guard personnel—both women and men—served in theater.

Following the war, Virginia Guardsmen deployed to the Sinai, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo as part of international peacekeeping missions.

In December 1993, the 192nd Fighter Group was fully operational with the F-16 and was selected to lead a four-state Air National Guard F-16 “rainbow” detachment deployed to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to support Operation Provide Comfort II.  Between December 1, 1993, and January 15, 1994, Air National Guard pilots patrolled the no-fly zone over northern Iraq to protect Kurdish villages.  This marked the first time Air National Guard units were activated for a peacekeeping role in the Middle East following the Gulf War.

 On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in major attacks against the United States.  

The country’s response to those attacks, Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, dominated the 192nd’s agenda in the following months.  The wing’s home station in Sandston, Virginia, took on the appearance of an active-duty Air Force base as over four hundred unit members were called to active duty for periods of up to two years.

Beginning in mid-September 2001, combat air patrols flew day and night for 218 consecutive days, continuing until mid-April 2002.  They ultimately totaled 820 operational sorties and 3,515.5 flying hours.  This marked a period of prolonged intensity at the Air National Guard base that had been unmatched since the Berlin call-up of 1961–1962.

2002

In early 2002, approximately 70 soldiers from Virginia’s Company B, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group were mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan.  As captured enemy combatants were transported to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention, the 2nd Battalion, 116th Infantry was mobilized on November 2, 2002, to assist in securing the base.  This marked the first time since World War II that a Virginia National Guard battalion deployed overseas for an active mission rather than for training.

2003

In 2003, the United States launched an invasion of Iraq to locate and destroy suspected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs—both chemical and biological) and to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power.  A coalition of U.S. and British forces entered Iraq in March, and although President George W. Bush declared military victory on May 1, U.S. forces remained in the country as the situation quickly deteriorated.

Three Virginia National Guard units were deployed to the region during the invasion.  Two of them—Headquarters Detachment, 1030th Engineer Battalion, and the 1032nd Transportation Company—accompanied coalition forces into Iraq in March and April 2003.

Later that year, between September and October, approximately 300 personnel from the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing, along with several F-16 fighter jets, deployed to Qatar to fly combat air cover missions over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This marked a significant deployment, as it placed the 192nd at the forefront of ongoing air operations in the region.

2004

The Security Forces Squadron provided support for several CONUS (contiguous United States) assignments during the 2004 fiscal year.  Unit members were sent to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.  In addition, fourteen members of the Medical Squadron deployed to Detroit Receiving Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  They supported those in residence while completing the final phase of their Nursing Services training plan.

The 192nd Maintenance Group reached a milestone on January 14, 2004, when the propulsion section completed its 300th jet engine assembly since production began in 1994.  As the year unfolded, new mission complexities and requirements arose for the 192nd Fighter Wing, and their unit was scheduled to relocate to the nearby Langley Air Force Base.

2005

In October 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Guy became the first Virginia Air National Guard pilot to transition to Langley Air Force Base and fly the new F-22A Raptor in training missions and sorties alongside active-duty Air Force pilots stationed there.  

2006

In the years that followed, several Virginia Air National Guard units continued to support missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Notably, in 2006, the 192nd Security Forces Squadron—the military police element of the 192nd Fighter Wing—was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  On February 18, 2006, 192nd Fighter Wing pilots Lieutenant Colonel Guy and Major Patrick DeConcini became the first two Virginia Air National Guardsmen to complete ship flights on F-22As from Langley Air Force Base.  Later in May, active duty personnel and Virginia National Guardsmen then completed tasking for a first-ever joint exercise requirement.  From late 2006 into early 2007, the 203rd Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Squadron served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with elements also participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, performing a variety of construction missions.

2007

The last Unit Training Assembly at Sandston took place in September 2007.  Remaining base personnel solemnly attended the “Stand Down” ceremony in the main hangar and watched as Colonel Jay Pearsall rolled up and put away the unit flag.  Afterwards, a single F-16 took off, turned, and passed over the flight deck.  The pilot dipped the wings of his jet and made a final flyby before continuing to bring the aircraft to its new location with Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing.

On October 13, 2007, the 192nd Fighter Wing was reactivated in a ceremony held at the 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley Air Force Base.  Integration with the active-duty 1st Fighter Wing allows the Air National Guard to be at the forefront of the latest fighter craft designs.  Set up as a classic “associate wing,” the 192nd Fighter Wing works directly with the 1st FW while maintaining its own unit identity and command structure.  It shares in the support of mission requirements for the F-22A Raptor but does not own any of the aircraft stationed there.

Members of the Virginia Air National Guard have integrated into the 480th Intelligence Wing, as well as the support and medical groups.  As of October 2007, the 192nd Intel Squadron has grown to approximately one hundred members.  With ever-changing mission requirements to protect and defend the United States, the Virginia Air National Guard continues to grow and strengthen.

 On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in major attacks against the United States.  

The country’s response to those attacks, Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, dominated the 192nd’s agenda in the following months.  The wing’s home station in Sandston, Virginia, took on the appearance of an active-duty Air Force base as over four hundred unit members were called to active duty for periods of up to two years.

Beginning in mid-September 2001, combat air patrols flew day and night for 218 consecutive days, continuing until mid-April 2002.  They ultimately totaled 820 operational sorties and 3,515.5 flying hours.  This marked a period of prolonged intensity at the Air National Guard base that had been unmatched since the Berlin call-up of 1961–1962.

2002

In early 2002, approximately 70 soldiers from Virginia’s Company B, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group were mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan.  As captured enemy combatants were transported to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention, the 2nd Battalion, 116th Infantry was mobilized on November 2, 2002, to assist in securing the base.  This marked the first time since World War II that a Virginia National Guard battalion deployed overseas for an active mission rather than for training.

2003

In 2003, the United States launched an invasion of Iraq to locate and destroy suspected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs—both chemical and biological) and to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power.  A coalition of U.S. and British forces entered Iraq in March, and although President George W. Bush declared military victory on May 1, U.S. forces remained in the country as the situation quickly deteriorated.

Three Virginia National Guard units were deployed to the region during the invasion.  Two of them—Headquarters Detachment, 1030th Engineer Battalion, and the 1032nd Transportation Company—accompanied coalition forces into Iraq in March and April 2003.

Later that year, between September and October, approximately 300 personnel from the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing, along with several F-16 fighter jets, deployed to Qatar to fly combat air cover missions over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This marked a significant deployment, as it placed the 192nd at the forefront of ongoing air operations in the region.

2004

The Security Forces Squadron provided support for several CONUS (contiguous United States) assignments during the 2004 fiscal year.  Unit members were sent to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.  In addition, fourteen members of the Medical Squadron deployed to Detroit Receiving Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  They supported those in residence while completing the final phase of their Nursing Services training plan.

The 192nd Maintenance Group reached a milestone on January 14, 2004, when the propulsion section completed its 300th jet engine assembly since production began in 1994.  As the year unfolded, new mission complexities and requirements arose for the 192nd Fighter Wing, and their unit was scheduled to relocate to the nearby Langley Air Force Base.

2005

In October 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Guy became the first Virginia Air National Guard pilot to transition to Langley Air Force Base and fly the new F-22A Raptor in training missions and sorties alongside active-duty Air Force pilots stationed there.  

2006

In the years that followed, several Virginia Air National Guard units continued to support missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Notably, in 2006, the 192nd Security Forces Squadron—the military police element of the 192nd Fighter Wing—was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  On February 18, 2006, 192nd Fighter Wing pilots Lieutenant Colonel Guy and Major Patrick DeConcini became the first two Virginia Air National Guardsmen to complete ship flights on F-22As from Langley Air Force Base.  Later in May, active duty personnel and Virginia National Guardsmen then completed tasking for a first-ever joint exercise requirement.  From late 2006 into early 2007, the 203rd Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Squadron served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with elements also participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, performing a variety of construction missions.

2007

The last Unit Training Assembly at Sandston took place in September 2007.  Remaining base personnel solemnly attended the “Stand Down” ceremony in the main hangar and watched as Colonel Jay Pearsall rolled up and put away the unit flag.  Afterwards, a single F-16 took off, turned, and passed over the flight deck.  The pilot dipped the wings of his jet and made a final flyby before continuing to bring the aircraft to its new location with Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing.

On October 13, 2007, the 192nd Fighter Wing was reactivated in a ceremony held at the 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley Air Force Base.  Integration with the active-duty 1st Fighter Wing allows the Air National Guard to be at the forefront of the latest fighter craft designs.  Set up as a classic “associate wing,” the 192nd Fighter Wing works directly with the 1st FW while maintaining its own unit identity and command structure.  It shares in the support of mission requirements for the F-22A Raptor but does not own any of the aircraft stationed there.

Members of the Virginia Air National Guard have integrated into the 480th Intelligence Wing, as well as the support and medical groups.  As of October 2007, the 192nd Intel Squadron has grown to approximately one hundred members.  With ever-changing mission requirements to protect and defend the United States, the Virginia Air National Guard continues to grow and strengthen.

2003

In 2003, the United States launched an invasion of Iraq to locate and destroy suspected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs—both chemical and biological) and to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power.  A coalition of U.S. and British forces entered Iraq in March, and although President George W. Bush declared military victory on May 1, U.S. forces remained in the country as the situation quickly deteriorated.

Three Virginia National Guard units were deployed to the region during the invasion.  Two of them—Headquarters Detachment, 1030th Engineer Battalion, and the 1032nd Transportation Company—accompanied coalition forces into Iraq in March and April 2003.

Later that year, between September and October, approximately 300 personnel from the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing, along with several F-16 fighter jets, deployed to Qatar to fly combat air cover missions over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This marked a significant deployment, as it placed the 192nd at the forefront of ongoing air operations in the region.

2005

As the Global War on Terror increased demand for military police forces, the Army National Guard reorganized several artillery units across the nation to perform military police missions.  Between 2003 and 2008, numerous field artillery organizations were redesignated as military police companies to help meet requirements for detention operations, convoy security, route security, and base defense in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On October 18, 2005, Battery A (Richmond Howitzers), 2nd Battalion, 111th Field Artillery, was redesignated as the 654th Military Police Company as part of this nationwide restructuring effort.  The conversion reflected broader Army National Guard force-structure changes that transformed eighteen artillery units into military police companies to support operational requirements during the Global War on Terror.  The redesignation marked the first time in more than two centuries that the Richmond Howitzers no longer served in an artillery role, reflecting how the Virginia National Guard adapted to the changing demands of twenty-first-century warfare.

Mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 654th Military Police Company deployed to Iraq from 2006 to 2007, serving for approximately ten and a half months.  During the deployment, the unit conducted military police missions in support of coalition operations and was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service.

2004

The Security Forces Squadron provided support for several CONUS (contiguous United States) assignments during the 2004 fiscal year.  Unit members were sent to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.  In addition, fourteen members of the Medical Squadron deployed to Detroit Receiving Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  They supported those in residence while completing the final phase of their Nursing Services training plan.

The 192nd Maintenance Group reached a milestone on January 14, 2004, when the propulsion section completed its 300th jet engine assembly since production began in 1994.  As the year unfolded, new mission complexities and requirements arose for the 192nd Fighter Wing, and their unit was scheduled to relocate to the nearby Langley Air Force Base.

2005

In October 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Guy became the first Virginia Air National Guard pilot to transition to Langley Air Force Base and fly the new F-22A Raptor in training missions and sorties alongside active-duty Air Force pilots stationed there.  

2006

In the years that followed, several Virginia Air National Guard units continued to support missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Notably, in 2006, the 192nd Security Forces Squadron—the military police element of the 192nd Fighter Wing—was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  On February 18, 2006, 192nd Fighter Wing pilots Lieutenant Colonel Guy and Major Patrick DeConcini became the first two Virginia Air National Guardsmen to complete ship flights on F-22As from Langley Air Force Base.  Later in May, active duty personnel and Virginia National Guardsmen then completed tasking for a first-ever joint exercise requirement.  From late 2006 into early 2007, the 203rd Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Squadron served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with elements also participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, performing a variety of construction missions.

2007

The last Unit Training Assembly at Sandston took place in September 2007.  Remaining base personnel solemnly attended the “Stand Down” ceremony in the main hangar and watched as Colonel Jay Pearsall rolled up and put away the unit flag.  Afterwards, a single F-16 took off, turned, and passed over the flight deck.  The pilot dipped the wings of his jet and made a final flyby before continuing to bring the aircraft to its new location with Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing.

On October 13, 2007, the 192nd Fighter Wing was reactivated in a ceremony held at the 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley Air Force Base.  Integration with the active-duty 1st Fighter Wing allows the Air National Guard to be at the forefront of the latest fighter craft designs.  Set up as a classic “associate wing,” the 192nd Fighter Wing works directly with the 1st FW while maintaining its own unit identity and command structure.  It shares in the support of mission requirements for the F-22A Raptor but does not own any of the aircraft stationed there.

Members of the Virginia Air National Guard have integrated into the 480th Intelligence Wing, as well as the support and medical groups.  As of October 2007, the 192nd Intel Squadron has grown to approximately one hundred members.  With ever-changing mission requirements to protect and defend the United States, the Virginia Air National Guard continues to grow and strengthen.

 On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in major attacks against the United States.  

The country’s response to those attacks, Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, dominated the 192nd’s agenda in the following months.  The wing’s home station in Sandston, Virginia, took on the appearance of an active-duty Air Force base as over four hundred unit members were called to active duty for periods of up to two years.

Beginning in mid-September 2001, combat air patrols flew day and night for 218 consecutive days, continuing until mid-April 2002.  They ultimately totaled 820 operational sorties and 3,515.5 flying hours.  This marked a period of prolonged intensity at the Air National Guard base that had been unmatched since the Berlin call-up of 1961–1962.

2002

In early 2002, approximately 70 soldiers from Virginia’s Company B, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group were mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan.  As captured enemy combatants were transported to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention, the 2nd Battalion, 116th Infantry was mobilized on November 2, 2002, to assist in securing the base.  This marked the first time since World War II that a Virginia National Guard battalion deployed overseas for an active mission rather than for training.

2003

In 2003, the United States launched an invasion of Iraq to locate and destroy suspected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs—both chemical and biological) and to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power.  A coalition of U.S. and British forces entered Iraq in March, and although President George W. Bush declared military victory on May 1, U.S. forces remained in the country as the situation quickly deteriorated.

Three Virginia National Guard units were deployed to the region during the invasion.  Two of them—Headquarters Detachment, 1030th Engineer Battalion, and the 1032nd Transportation Company—accompanied coalition forces into Iraq in March and April 2003.

Later that year, between September and October, approximately 300 personnel from the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing, along with several F-16 fighter jets, deployed to Qatar to fly combat air cover missions over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This marked a significant deployment, as it placed the 192nd at the forefront of ongoing air operations in the region.

2004

The Security Forces Squadron provided support for several CONUS (contiguous United States) assignments during the 2004 fiscal year.  Unit members were sent to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.  In addition, fourteen members of the Medical Squadron deployed to Detroit Receiving Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  They supported those in residence while completing the final phase of their Nursing Services training plan.

The 192nd Maintenance Group reached a milestone on January 14, 2004, when the propulsion section completed its 300th jet engine assembly since production began in 1994.  As the year unfolded, new mission complexities and requirements arose for the 192nd Fighter Wing, and their unit was scheduled to relocate to the nearby Langley Air Force Base.

2005

In October 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Guy became the first Virginia Air National Guard pilot to transition to Langley Air Force Base and fly the new F-22A Raptor in training missions and sorties alongside active-duty Air Force pilots stationed there.  

2006

In the years that followed, several Virginia Air National Guard units continued to support missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Notably, in 2006, the 192nd Security Forces Squadron—the military police element of the 192nd Fighter Wing—was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  On February 18, 2006, 192nd Fighter Wing pilots Lieutenant Colonel Guy and Major Patrick DeConcini became the first two Virginia Air National Guardsmen to complete ship flights on F-22As from Langley Air Force Base.  Later in May, active duty personnel and Virginia National Guardsmen then completed tasking for a first-ever joint exercise requirement.  From late 2006 into early 2007, the 203rd Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Squadron served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with elements also participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, performing a variety of construction missions.

2007

The last Unit Training Assembly at Sandston took place in September 2007.  Remaining base personnel solemnly attended the “Stand Down” ceremony in the main hangar and watched as Colonel Jay Pearsall rolled up and put away the unit flag.  Afterwards, a single F-16 took off, turned, and passed over the flight deck.  The pilot dipped the wings of his jet and made a final flyby before continuing to bring the aircraft to its new location with Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing.

On October 13, 2007, the 192nd Fighter Wing was reactivated in a ceremony held at the 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley Air Force Base.  Integration with the active-duty 1st Fighter Wing allows the Air National Guard to be at the forefront of the latest fighter craft designs.  Set up as a classic “associate wing,” the 192nd Fighter Wing works directly with the 1st FW while maintaining its own unit identity and command structure.  It shares in the support of mission requirements for the F-22A Raptor but does not own any of the aircraft stationed there.

Members of the Virginia Air National Guard have integrated into the 480th Intelligence Wing, as well as the support and medical groups.  As of October 2007, the 192nd Intel Squadron has grown to approximately one hundred members.  With ever-changing mission requirements to protect and defend the United States, the Virginia Air National Guard continues to grow and strengthen.

As combat operations and National Guard deployments increased and decreased in scope based on emerging events, more and more Virginia National Guard units were mobilized and deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  This trend continues today as Virginia National Guardsmen and Airmen deploy throughout the world.

Since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism, over 15,000 Virginia National Guardsmen and Airmen have mobilized to support operations.