South Carolina State Guard

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Headquarters, State Area Command South Carolina State Guard
Active
Country	United States
Allegiance	South Carolina
Branch	South Carolina Military Department
Type	State Defense Force
Role	Civil defense, counter terrorism, emergency readiness, combat support
Size	2,000
Garrison/HQ	Columbia, South Carolina
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Nelson C. Lacy

The South Carolina State Guard is the defense force of the State of South Carolina, as provided for by the Constitution of the State of South Carolina and other state laws. Under Section 25-3-10 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, the State Guard is formed as a separate military force under command of the South Carolina Military Department and the Adjutant General. The State Guard maintains its headquarters in Columbia, which is the state capitol, and brigade level commands are located in the cities of Columbia (1st Midlands Brigade and 5th Civil Affairs Brigade), Charleston (3rd Coastal Brigade), and Fountain Inn (2nd Highlander Brigade).

As is typical of state defense forces, the South Carolina State Guard cannot be ordered into federal service (though it has occasionally been sent out of state by order of the Governor, as was done in the aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City). The State Guard is essentially the modern day continuation of the South Carolina Militia, which has been in service in one form or another since the 1600s. As such, the State Guard is made up of unpaid volunteers, many of whom are veterans of the federal armed services or members of the federal military reserves or South Carolina Army/Air National Guard.

When called to active duty, members of the State Guard are paid according to federal military pay charts. SCSG is not a civic organization, but formal military units sactioned and provided for by State and Federal law, and as such all soldiers of the State Guard are viewed as soldiers under state law. All soldiers within the SCSG swear the same oath as their National Guard counterparts and are equal parts of the South Carolina Military Department.

In case of insurrection within the state, the Governor has the authority to call the State Guard into active service to restore order. In order to do this, commissioned officers are granted law enforcement powers equal to that of a state Constable. Elements of the State Guard are routinely called into service in response to natural disasters, primarily hurricanes, in order to coordinate effective evacuation of the coastal areas of the state. The Governor (or the Adjutant General, if the Governor is incapacitated or unavailable) can also activate the State Guard when a significant number of the South Carolina National Guard are out of state for federal service, as is currently the case with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. State Guard members are also trained for counter terrorism operations and other civil defense missions as part of the state's homeland defense policy.

The State Guard may bear arms only when authorized by the Governor. This is primarily the case because if the state were to organize an armed combat force not under federal command it could potentially be seen as a rebellion or uprising. In the event of an invasion of the United States, however, the State Guard would initiate rapid full-scale training operations in order to be fully trained and equipped for combat operations, should that be necessary.^{[citation needed]} The State Guard is organized in wartime as one light infantry division of at least five thousand men and women,^{[citation needed]} though in peacetime it performs various civil defense missions which are vital to the state of South Carolina and to the national defense of the United States.

1 History
2 Insignia and Uniform
3 Links
4 References

[edit] History

As World War II raged in Europe it was obvious to American military planners that the United States stood a good chance of becoming involved in the war. Should that occur, the National Guard would inevitably be ordered to active duty, leaving no military force to maintain order in the several states. To rectify this situation the National Defense Act of 3 June 1916 was amended on 21 October 1940 to allow the establishment of state defense forces. In South Carolina the enabling act was the Act Establishing the South Carolina Defense Force, signed into law by Governor Burnet R. Maybank on 21 March 1941.

The South Carolina Defense Force (SCDF) was organized into a Headquarters, four regiments of three battalions each, and at least one independent battalion. Initially those wishing to enlist or be commissioned had to be between the ages of 21 and 55, in good health, and of good character. The minimum age quickly fell to 17 and there are indications that a few men served at an even younger age. The uniform was to be Confederate Gray. This was changed to standard GI Olive Drab by 1943. The initial armament was the Model 1917 rifle, sometimes called the 1917 Enfield rifle. Later this changed to a mix of rifles, shotguns, Thompson sub machine guns, and a few larger weapons.

The men of the SCDF were volunteers, serving without pay unless called into active service by the governor. The authorized strength was 518 officers and 6,035 enlisted men. According to the Adjutant General's report of 2 July 1941 there were 191 officers and 3,060 enlisted men enrolled as of 30 June 1941. Among the officers was 2LT J. Strom Thurmond of Company L (Edgefield), 3d Battalion, 1st Regiment. By the spring of 1942 the number enrolled had risen to over 6,000.

The mission of the SCDF, renamed the South Carolina State Guard (SCSG) in January 1944, was to defend against invasion along the South Carolina coast and assist local officials in providing internal security, including search and rescue. While invasion by sea was unlikely there was a fear that the Germans might land forces by submarine and it was the job of the SCDF to hold until troops could be brought in from Fort Jackson. Fortunately the need never materialized.

Most of the time the men drilled and conducted defensive exercises to prepare them in the event an invasion did occur. Occasionally they were called out to provide security for crashed aircraft or after natural or man made disasters. Apparently the last official activity of the SCSG was to provide security in Greenville after the Ideal Laundry fire in November 1946. The last known war time unit, Company E (Greenville), 2d Battalion, 2d Regiment, was mustered out on 8 August 1947.^[1]

[edit] Insignia and Uniform

The SC State Guard currently wears standard woodland BDU's with black on olive drab army insignia on the collar indicating rank. Name tapes on the BDU consist of a black tape with gray lettering. The left shoulder holds the SSI and Brigade Identifaction Tab while the right shoulder is reserved for unit patches of combat units the soldier was attached to during federal service. Prior service soldiers may also wear qualification tabs and badges earned while in federal service.
Original SC Defense Force SSI
Current SC State Guard SSI

Dress uniforms for SCSG are variations of the Army Class A and B uniforms. SCSG soldiers wear distinctive DUI insignia, state specific buttons as well as a garrison cap instead of the federal beret. Prior service soldiers may wear all ribbons and awards earned while in federal service in addition to any earned while in service of South Carolina.