Governor, First Lady, SPSHS send off Red Dragons

Senior leaders from state government and the Virginia National Guard bid farewell to the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team May 16, 2016, in Roanoke, Virginia. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe ,Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran, Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Col. William J. Coffin, the commander of the 116th IBCT, shook hands with Soldiers before they boarded a plan to their mobilization station in Texas.

Approximately 450 Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, also known as the Red Dragons, began serving on federal active duty May 13, and the federal active duty mobilization is expected to be for about 12 months. They are scheduled to replace the Virginia National Guard’s Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, also known as Task Force Normandy, currently conducting security operations in Qatar.