Task Force Red Dragon Soldiers receive National Service Medal in Bedford

Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Bedford-based Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team receive the Virginia Governor’s National Service Medal during a ceremony Jan. 21, 2023, in Bedford, Virginia. Brig. Gen. James W. Ring, the VNG Director of the Joint Staff, presented the awards and also thanked the Soldiers for their service. The Soldiers were part of more than 1,000 Virginia and Kentucky National Guard Soldiers who mobilized as Task Force Red Dragon, and they conducted a security mission for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa from November 2021 through September 2022. The Virginia Governor's National Service Medal recognizes the service of the men and women of the Virginia Army and Air National Guard called to active federal duty since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Read more about the Task Force Red Dragon mission at ngpa.us/23768.