Col. Blake Ortner of Stafford, incoming commander of 116th Brigade Combat Team, receives the unit colors. Virginia Guard Public Affairs Visit the Photo Place

Stafford man takes command

Stafford man assumes command of Army National Guard unit

Date published: 6/24/2009

By RUSTY DENNEN

Col. Blake C. Ortner of Stafford County has taken command of a Staunton-based Army National Guard unit known as the Stonewall Brigade.

Brigade Commander Col. William R. Phillips II relinquished the post during a change-of-command ceremony Sunday at Fort Pickett, south of Richmond.

Phelps was commander when the 116th Brigade Combat Team of the 29th Infantry Division was deployed to Iraq from June 2007 to February 2008. The brigade controlled security and infrastructure for coalition forces in Baghdad's International Zone. One soldier with the unit was wounded in a rocket attack during the deployment.

"Col. Ortner is the right man for the job," Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Huxtable, assistant adjutant general, Army, of the Virginia National Guard, said during the ceremony. "The brigade is the best, and together we will keep it the best."

Said Ortner, "I cannot think of a better honor than to be the commander of this group of soldiers. This has been a long journey to this ceremony."

Ortner ended with the words, "ever forward," and the troops responded, "Stonewall," in the tradition of honoring Civil War Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Ortner served in Afghanistan with the Fredericksburg-based 229th Engineer Battalion during 2004-2005. The 229th is attached to the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry, which Ortner commanded.

The 116th Brigade Combat Team is the largest command in the Virginia Army National Guard, with more than 3,500 soldiers serving in armories through the state, including Fredericksburg. The 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion is headquartered at Fredericksburg Armory.

The brigade has sent more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan than in any deployment since World War II.

Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com

Col. Blake C. Ortner was commissioned as an Army infantry officer in 1983, serving until 1987. He joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 1989. He holds a degree in international relations from the University of Minnesota and is attending the Army War College to pursue a master's in strategic studies. He is married, with two children, and resides in Stafford County.

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Date published: 6/24/2009