Virginal National Guard to be deployed to Middle East for Federal active duty

Governor Ralph Northam announced on May 5, 2021, that Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins will deploy for federal active duty in the Middle East. Secretary Hopkins is a Colonel in the Virginia Army National Guard and will be deploying with the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division. Hopkins has served in the Northam Administration since inauguration and has played a critical role in making Virginia the most veteran-friendly state in the nation. Deputy Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Kathleen Jabs will serve as Acting Secretary.

“I know I speak for my fellow veterans in thanking Secretary Hopkins for his leadership over the past three years,” said Governor Northam. “Virginia is home to more than 721,000 men and women who have served this country and Commonwealth, and Secretary Hopkins has been an unwavering advocate for our military and veterans communities. While his absence will certainly be felt across our Administration, it is only fitting that Secretary Hopkins would be stepping up to serve our nation with the Virginia National Guard. I am grateful for his dedicated service, and I wish him a safe and successful mission.”

Virginia’s Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs is the Commonwealth’s top official for coordinating state and federal resources to support Virginia’s veteran and the military community. Under Secretary Hopkin’s leadership, more than 35,000 Virginia veterans were hired through the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program, which helps transitioning service members find jobs in the civilian workforce. Secretary Hopkins has overseen a significant expansion in services for women veterans—who make up a larger portion of Virginia’s population than any other state—and has led Virginia’s efforts to increase mental health services and prevent suicide among active and returning service members.

“It has been an honor to serve alongside Secretary Hopkins these past few years,” said Kathleen Jabs, newly-appointed Acting Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. “I am proud of all we have accomplished thus far, and I look forward to continuing Virginia’s legacy as the best state for veterans, service members, and their families.”

Prior to joining the Northam Administration in 2019, Kathleen Jabs served as Deputy Director of Management and Public Affairs at the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She retired from the United States Navy as a Captain with twenty-seven years of service and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy.

This spring, more than 500 soldiers of the 29th will begin a 10-month-long deployment in the Central Command Area of Operations as Task Force Spartan to provide leadership, command, control, and in-depth staff analysis for Operation Spartan Shield. Soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division will conduct mobilization training in Maryland and Virginia and then report to Fort Hood, Texas, for the final mobilization training before deployment to the Middle East.

About the 29th Infantry Division:

Known as the Blue and Gray Division, the 29th Infantry Division is an Army National Guard operational-level headquarters located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Its origins date back to World War I and are most known for its participation in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach in World War II. Its wartime mission is to provide mission command to subordinate brigades and forces tailored for an assigned mission. It is one of eight divisions in the Army National Guard.

The 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, and the 29th Infantry Band are aligned under the 29th. The division currently has training relationships with the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Florida and Alabama, the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team from North Carolina and West Virginia, the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade from Maryland, the 226th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade from Alabama, the 113th Sustainment Brigade from North Carolina and the 142nd Fires Brigade from Arkansas.

From October 2001 to April 2002, the 29th Infantry Division was mobilized on federal active duty as the headquarters for Multinational Division (North), Task Force Eagle, in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the 10th rotation of NATO’s peace stabilization forces known as the NATO-led Stabilization Force. Task Force Eagle provided command and control for units from the Army National Guard as well as forces from more than 11 other nations.

Maryland and Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 29th Infantry Division served on federal active duty in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012 when they conducted two rotations assigned to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Afghan National Security Force Development Team. During that time they served as advisers and mentors to senior Afghan leaders with the mission to provide Afghan national army and national police subject-matter expertise to facilitate ANSF growth and development.

Prior to their service in Afghanistan, Maryland and Virginia Soldiers from the 29th Infantry Division deployed overseas for peacekeeping duty in Kosovo from August 2006 to November 2007.