"We had an incident occur, centered on two soldiers from two units," Lt. Col. Van McCarty, commander of the National Guard's 1st Battalion, 178th Field Artillery said Wednesday when asked about a fight and other incidents reported by a soldier in the unit.

"They (soldiers) gathered in between the barracks, and there was more pushing and shoving than actual fighting. The number, 30 (total), involved is close to being accurate, but there was no brawl," McCarty said. "The NCOs and the officers calmed the situation."

Still, the altercation was one of three incidents within the past week that arguably could have an effect on the unit's morale as it trains to provide security for Army convoys and posts in Iraq.

With more than 600 soldiers, the battalion headquartered in Georgetown is the largest S.C. National Guard unit mobilized since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Initially trained as artillerymen, the soldiers have been retraining in security and infantry skills at Fort Dix since being recalled in July.

A soldier who asked that his name be withheld said that between 45 and 60 members were facing possible courts-martial for reporting late from a 36-hour pass.

The troops thought they should have been allowed to have the entire Labor Day weekend off, the soldier said, but McCarty said he wanted the troops back early Sunday to resume training.

McCarty said the troops never had been promised more than 36 hours off, although some of his soldiers may have spoken to soldiers from other units who had been released for the entire weekend. The South Carolina soldiers were released late Friday and told to return no later than early Sunday."The training is extensive and involves a lot of basic soldier skills," said Fort Dix spokeswoman Carolee Nisbet, "but we have no reason to believe there will be any courts-martial. These things are usually handled internally within the unit."

Nisbet said Defense Department police were called to the scene of the fight but made no arrests. She said the fight apparently started over an argument centered on which unit had reserved a picnic area at the fort.

On Wednesday, the soldier who reported the fight said the battalion now faces a "lockdown" after a surprise inspection disclosed a couple of bottles of liquor in the barracks. The lockdown restricts the troops to their barracks or their training areas.

Queried later, McCarty said, "We conducted an inspection and decided to take corrective action. It's my responsibility to make sure they're ready to go (to Iraq)." A standing order bars the troops there from using any alcoholic beverages.

Nisbet said a ban on alcohol covers barracks throughout the fort.

The soldier who reported the fight said he was worried about the battalion's morale.

"When you have fights like that, it always lays over," or holds on into the future. The soldier said he wasn't involved in the fight himself but was worried about how the unit would behave once it arrive in Iraq.

"I'm afraid it's not going to stop," he said. "I'm afraid for my life."

In Columbia, S.C. National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Pete Brooks said: "We're in contact with the unit every day, and we look into every complaint."

Brooks said Maj. Gen. Stan Spears, the S.C. adjutant general, visited the battalion for a day last month and heard no complaints like those reported this week.

"If three or four people out of 600 complain, that doesn't mean there's a morale problem," he said.

Both McCarty and Nisbet said they didn't know when the battalion would leave for Iraq, but Nisbet said the unit was "within its window" of six to eight weeks of training the Army figures such outfits need before heading to the war zone.

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