DMV 2 Go supports returning Va. Guard Soldiers - Sept. 17, 2016

Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran and Brig. Gen. Paul Griffin, Virginia National Guard Director of the Joint Staff, thank Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles personnel supporting Virginia Guard Soldiers assigned to the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team with the DMV 2 Go mobile office during the Yellow Ribbon weekend Sept. 17, 2016, in Richmond, Virginia.

Soldiers from the battalion served on federal active duty from September 2015 to July 2016 where they conducted security operations in Qatar, and the Yellow Ribbon Program is part of the reintegration process for Soldiers and their families that includes presentations on employment, health care, money management and resiliency. DMV 2 Go is a full-service DMV that can provide driver's licenses, vehicle transactions, different road tests, hunting and fishing licenses, veteran ID cards and other DMV transactions.

More than 450 Soldiers from units based in Winchester, Woodstock, Leesburg and Suffolk provided security for installations in the U.S. Army’s Central Command area of operations in Qatar. As part of their security mission, Soldiers from the battalion, also known as Task Force Normandy, searched nearly 140,000 vehicles and more than 303,000 individuals, and they conducted nearly 970 security patrols. Their higher headquarters praised the battalion for making significant improvements in base security plans. They also drove approximately 253,000 miles without any safety issues or accidents.

Soldiers from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, also known as the Red Dragons, took over the security mission from Task Force Normandy July 11.

Since September 11, 2001, more than 15,000 Virginia Guard Soldiers and Airmen have mobilized on federal active duty for homeland security missions and combat operations, sustainment support and peacekeeping in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and other locations around the world. There are currently more than 700 Soldiers and Airmen deployed in the Middle East and Cuba conducting security operations, providing engineer support and conducting other missions.

Additional information on Task Force Normandy:

In addition to their security mission, the deployment provided the unit with opportunities for rigorous individual and squad level training on core infantry skills. Every Soldier in the battalion qualified on their primary weapon and took part in short range and advanced rifle marksmanship training. The battalion was also able to conduct live fire training at the fire team, squad and section level, and crews were able to qualify on their crew served weapons.

Soldiers were also able to take advantage of educational opportunities and earned 727 college credits and completed 16,553 military education courses.

The battalion is headquartered in Winchester and is made up of the following company-level units for the deployment:

– Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment and Company F, 429th Brigade Support Battalion based in Winchester
– Company B, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment based in Woodstock with additional Soldiers assigned to the detachment in Warrenton
– Company C, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment based in Leesburg
– Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment based in Suffolk

Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment based in Charlottesville with a detachment in Harrisonburg, as well as Soldiers assigned to 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion based in Fredericksburg, also took part in the mission and deployed with the battalion.