Departure ceremonies held in Bedford, Christiansburg, Lexington and Lynchburg for Red Dragons

Departure ceremonies for the Virginia National Guard’s Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are held May 14 and 15 in Christiansburg, Bedford, Lexington and Lynchburg to honor the men and women of the battalion as they begin a federal active duty mobilization. Approximately 450 Soldiers from the battalion, also known as the Red Dragons, will begin serving on federal active duty May 13, 2016, and the 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.

The battalion is headquartered in Lynchburg and Soldiers from units based in Bedford, Lexington and Christiansburg will mobilize for the mission.