|
The flag of the 1-29th Brigade Troops Battalion is unfurled yesterday outside Fredericksburg's Walker-Grant Middle School.
A crowd watches under yesterday's cool, crisp skies The Army National Guard's 229th Engineer Battalion has a new name and a new flag. The old flag is retired (above) during a ceremony yesterday. |
By CATHY JETT
As a breeze ruffled its colors yesterday, the storied 229th Engineer Battalion of the Virginia Army National Guard retired its old flag and unfurled a new one at Walker-Grant Middle School.
The ceremony, which included the smaller flags for each of its four companies, symbolized a change in name and duties for the Fredericksburg-based unit.
The 229th is now the 1-29th Brigade Troops Battalion, and its headquarters will shift from Fort Belvoir to Staunton. Many of its soldiers will receive training for new jobs in military intelligence, police, infantry, battalion support and hazardous materials cleanup.
"A lot of soldiers are happy about the opportunities they'll have," said Lt. Col. William J. Coffin, battalion commander.
The changes are part of a restructuring of the U.S. Army to make deployments more efficient, said Capt. Colin S. Noyes, a training officer with the 1-29th.
It also will benefit this area, since the 1-29th will be getting satellite communications technology that can be used if a hurricane or other disaster strikes, he said.
Yesterday's event--which drew a crowd of about 20 former commanders, dignitaries and family members--did not mark the first significant shift for the 147-year-old battalion.
Known as the Stonewall Brigade, it was formed by volunteer Fredericksburg militia in 1858 and was mustered into the Confederate Army as part of the 30th Virginia infantry. Its soldiers fought at Manassas, Fredericksburg and Cold Harbor, among other places, and took part in the surrender at Appomattox.
The unit reorganized as the Virginia Volunteers in 1880; as Company K of the 3rd regiment of Infantry in 1895; and the as Virginia National Guard in 1916. The brigade fought in France with the Blue and Gray Division during World War I, and was among the troops that landed on Omaha Beach during World War II.
Most recently, its soldiers served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as guarding Virginia airports and military bases as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
Two members of the 229th, Sgt. Nick Mason of King George County and Sgt. David Ruhren of Stafford County, were among those killed in a Dec. 20 mess hall bombing in Mosul, Iraq. Both men were 20.
Yesterday was a time to reflect on the unit's past and contemplate its future.
"We don't have events like this often," Coffin, the battalion commander, said after yesterday's ceremony. "It's an emotional event."
To reach CATHY JETT:
