The South Carolina Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the U.S. Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units is maintained through the National Guard Bureau.
South Carolina Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The South Carolina Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Army National Guard is composed of approximately 10,000 soldiers and airmen (as of February, 2009), and maintains 80 facilities across the state with over 2 million square feet (180,000 m²) of space.
Units and formations
Army National Guard Element, JFHQ-SC
- 263rd Army and Air Missile Defense Command, Anderson
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Anderson
- 678th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Eastover
- 2nd Battalion, 263rd Air Defense Artillery, Anderson
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Anderson
- Battery A, Seneca
- Battery B, Easley
- Battery C, Clemson
- Battery D, Clemson
- 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Charleston
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Charleston
- 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, Union
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Union
- Company A, Fountain Inn
- Company B, Gaffney
- Company C, Conway
- Company D, Dillon
- 1263rd Forward Support Company, Greer
- 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry, Mullins
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Mullins
- Company A, Moncks Corner
- Company B, North Charleston
- Company C, Mount Pleasant
- Company D, Marion
- 1118th Forward Support Company, Summerville
- 111th Signal Company, North Charleston
- 228th Signal Brigade, Spartanburg
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Spartanburg
- 151st Signal Battalion, Greenville
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Greenville
- Company A, Greenwood
- Company B, Hodges
- Company C, Camden
- Company B, 198th Signal Battalion
- 59th Troop Command, West Columbia
- 122nd Engineer Battalion, Edgefield
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Edgefield
- Forward Support Company, Edgefield
- 124th Engineer Company (Horizontal Construction), Saluda
- 125th Engineer Company, Abbeville
- 1221st Engineer Company (Clearance), Graniteville
- 1225th Engineer Detachment (Survey & Design), Batesburg
- 1226th Engineer Detachment (Asphalt), Batesburg
- 1227th Engineer Detachment (Concrete), Batesburg
- 178th Engineer Battalion, Rock Hill
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Rock Hill
- Forward Support Company, Rock Hill
- 174th Engineer Company, Wellford
- 1223rd Engineer Company (Vertical Construction), Walterboro
- 1782nd Engineer Company, Lancaster
- 1222nd Engineer Company (Sapper), Fort Mill
- 51st Military Police Battalion, Florence
- Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Florence
- 131st Military Police Company (Combat Support), Beaufort
- 132nd Military Police Company (Guard), West Columbia
- 133rd Military Police Company (Combat Support), Timmonsville
- 751st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Newberry
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Newberry
- 741st Quartermaster Company (Water Purification), Barnwell
- 742nd Ordnance Company, Eastover
- 264th Engineer Detachment (Firefighting Headquarters), Eastover
- 1050th Transportation Battalion, Newberry
- Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Newberry
- 1052nd Transportation Company (Cargo), Kingstree
- 1053rd Transportation Company (Light/Medium Truck), Bennettsville
- 1055th Transportation Company (Cargo), Laurens
- 122nd Engineer Battalion, Edgefield
- 59th Aviation Troop Command, McEntire JNGB
- 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment
- Company A (UH-60)
- 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company
- Company A (UH-60)
- Company B
- Company C (AH-64D)
- Company D (AVUM)
- Company E (Forward Support)
- 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company
- Company A at Army Aviation Support Facility Donaldson Field, Greenville (UH-72)
- 351st Aviation Support Battalion, Sumter
- 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment
- 2d General Support Aviation Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment at Army Aviation Support Facility Donaldson Field, Greenville
- Company B (CH-47D/F)
- Detachment 1
- Company B (CH-47D/F)
- 43rd Civil Support Team, West Columbia
- 1051st Judge Advocate General Detachment, Columbia
- Detachment 24, OSACOM
- 108th Public Affairs Detachment
- 246th Army Band
- 108th Chemical Company
- 251st Medical Company
- 218th Regiment (Leadership)
- 1st Battalion
- 2nd Battalion: OCS
- 3rd Battalion
- 4th Battalion
- 5th Battalion
- 51st RAOC
- 251st RAOC
Duties
National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary DutY Assignments, TDY), but only as part of their respective units. However, there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations (2001-?); the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard.
Active duty callups
For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six-year enlistment period (this policy was due to change 1 August 2007; the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months; individual states have differing policies).
History
The South Carolina Army National Guard was originally formed in 1670. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.
South Carolina aviation troops and their AH-64 Apache attack helicopters were called to Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch between August 1999 and February 2000. As Task Force 151, commanded by LTC David Anderson, the Task Force was augmented by Mississippi and Minnesota Army National Guard units, along with individual personnel from the National Guards of New Hampshire, Arizona, and Washington state.
South Carolina's C Co, 1-151 AVN was deployed to Kosovo under operational control of 1-104 AVN of the Pennsylvania ARNG (as were National Guard aviation units from Alabama and Nebraska) during KFOR 5A operations from July 2003 to February 2004.
HHC, A, B, D, and L Companies of the 1-151 AVN were deployed as Task Force 1-151 Aviation during Operation Iraqi Freedom II & III from October 2004 to October 2005, where they gained fame flying their AH-64A Apaches in an experimental two-tone grey scheme in support of the 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light), and then supported operations of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) in Al-Anbar Province. Task Force 1-151 was augmented with National Guard personnel from Tennessee, Missouri, and Maryland and the Individual Ready Reserve of the Army. L Company, 1-151 was augmented with National Guard personnel from Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wyoming, serving with distinction during OIF.
In the fall of 2008, a CH-47D Detachment, B Co, 2-238 AVN was activated in support of OEF, and deployed to Afghanistan. Paired with Illinois National Guard, B Co was split between three different forward operating bases, Bagram, Kandahar/Shank, and Salerno, with each acting independently of the others. The detachment's main missions included resupply, troop movement, and air assaults on high-value targets. B Co, 2-238 returned home in fall of 2009 after serving with great distinction and perseverance during Operation Enduring Freedom II.
Historic units
- 118th Infantry Regiment
- 218th Infantry Regiment
- 202d Cavalry Regiment
- 178th Field Artillery Regiment
- 151st Aviation Regiment
- 263d Air Defense Artillery Brigade
See also
- 169th Fighter Wing
- Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division - approx. 15 SC ARNG soldiers deployed to Iraq in Sep 2006.
- South Carolina Naval Militia
- South Carolina State Guard
References
External links
- Bibliography of South Carolina Army National Guard History compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History
- South Carolina Army National Guard, accessed 26 Nov 2006
- GlobalSecurity.org South Carolina Army National Guard, accessed 26 Nov 2006
