Governor’s proclamation recognizes 40th Birthday of Virginia Defense Force

RICHMOND, Va. — A proclamation signed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin celebrates the 40th birthday of the Virginia Defense Force April 18, 2024. With roots going back to the Virginia Volunteers in World War I and the Virginia Protective Force and Virginia State Guard in World War II, the VDF was formally established April 18, 1984, and now serves as the all-volunteer reserve to the Virginia National Guard.

Read the full proclamation below or on the Governor of Virginia web site at https://ngpa.us/29248 and read more about the VDF at https://ngpa.us/29249.

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By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

40th Birthday of the Virginia Defense Force

WHEREAS, the Virginia Defense Force, one of the three components of the Virginia Department of Military Affairs along with the Virginia Army National Guard and the Virginia Air National Guard, traces the tradition and heritage of citizen service to the founding of the Jamestown Colony in May 1607; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia created the Virginia State Volunteers, later renamed the Virginia Volunteers, in response to the 1917 federalization of the Virginia National Guard to support civil authorities; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Volunteers guarded bridges, waterways, fuel storage areas, and public buildings and facilities until they were deactivated in 1921 when the Virginia National Guard returned home from World War I; and

WHEREAS, following the 1940 Nazi defeat of the French army, Governor James Hubert Price ordered the establishment of the Virginia Protective Force to assume the in-state missions of the Virginia National Guard after it was called to federal service; and

WHEREAS, in 1944, the Virginia General Assembly changed the name of the Virginia Protective Force to the Virginia State Guard; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia State Guard was deactivated when the Virginia National Guard returned from federal service in June 1947; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia General Assembly amended the Code of Virginia in 1981 to permit a Virginia State Guard to exist during peacetime once again, and the Virginia State Guard State Headquarters was formally established on April 18, 1984, which is considered the founding date of the modern Virginia Defense Force; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia General Assembly amended the Code of Virginia on March 1, 1986, to change the name of the Virginia State Guard to the Virginia Defense Force; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Defense Force is authorized by Title 44 of the Code of Virginia as the all-volunteer reserve of the Virginia National Guard, and it serves as a force multiplier for all Virginia National Guard domestic operations; and

WHEREAS, for 40 years, members of the Virginia Defense Force have volunteered their time, skills, energy, and expertise, providing countless hours of dedicated service supporting citizens and communities of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia National Guard as part of the state emergency response team assisting their fellow Virginians during times of need;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize April 18, 2024, as the 40th BIRTHDAY OF THE VIRGINIA DEFENSE FORCE in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.