A Virginia National Guard soldier wounded in an accidental blast at Fort Pickett is in stable condition at VCU Medical Center and is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesman said yesterday. Thirteen soldiers taken to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg on Wednesday night were treated and released and have returned to duty, said Maj. Cotton Puryear.

A Virginia National Guard soldier wounded in an accidental blast at Fort Pickett is in stable condition at VCU Medical Center and is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesman said today. Thirteen other soldiers taken to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg last night were treated and released and have returned to duty, said Maj. Cotton Puryear.

A female soldier was flown to VCU Medical Center and 13 other soldiers were taken to hospitals after an explosion last night at Fort Pickett, officials said. A small device used to simulate the flashing and banging sounds that soldiers experience under fire exploded about 8 p.m., Maj. Cotton Puryear said. The woman closest to the blast suffered third-degree burns and cuts and was flown to the hospital.

Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and the Defense Supply Center Richmond are the first winners of the new Virginia Department of Defense Eagle Awards. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced the winners yesterday. Among other things, Fort A.P. Hill was cited for establishing stream buffers, using innovative stormwater management techniques and protecting more than 2,900 acres through conservation easements, according to state officials.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced today the winners of the first Virginia Eagle Awards for environmental stewardship among defense installations. The winners were Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and Defense Supply Center Richmond.

Six crewmen suffered minor injuries when a Navy helicopter crashed during a training exercise late Tuesday at Fort Pickett in Nottoway County, a spokesman said yesterday. The Sea Hawk helicopter crashed just after 10 p.m. at the Castles Combat Landing Strip, used by all branches of the military for training at the base, which is home to the Virginia Army National Guard.

Six crewmen suffered minor injuries when a Navy helicopter crashed during a training exercise last night at Fort Pickett in Nottoway County.

The Marine Corps’ 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit completed more than two weeks of intense training in central Virginia yesterday. The unit will begin moving back to its home base at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The training was designed to sharpen skills for combat in urbanized areas for about 2,200 Marines and sailors before the amphibious outfit deploys overseas this spring.

The Virginia Army National Guard will break ground tomorrow for a what could eventually be a $55 million training-center complex here. The project’s $25 million first phase includes construction of headquarters and education buildings for the 183rd Regional Training Institute, the state Guard’s primary training unit, at the post near Blackstone, the Guard said.

BLACKSTONE Marines flank both sides of the amphibious assault vehicle as it rolls through town in the fictitious Middle Eastern nation of Mica. Two apparently friendly women step from a building and speak. A little farther down, a man waves with one hand, momentarily keeping the other in his pocket before slowly pulling it out. He has the full attention of the armed U.S. Marines.

A Marine expeditionary unit deployed to Fort Pickett is conducting nearly two weeks of training in and around populated areas in Virginia. Most of the 2,200 Marines and sailors from the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will train at Pickett, but small groups—80 to 100 Marines—will perform three exercises at other locations, according to the 22nd’s spokesman, Capt. Clark Carpenter.