COLUMBIA -- A
bill close to clearing the General Assembly would create a naval
militia to beef up security around the state's ports.
The measure would authorize the creation of a volunteer force
comprised of retired Navy officers and Merchant Marines to assist
the Coast Guard in monitoring the waters around the ports for
suspicious activities, particularly during heightened security
alerts, said one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Glenn McConnell,
R-Charleston.
Implementation of the volunteer force would be coordinated by a
10-person Maritime Security Commission made up of representatives
from the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Department of Natural Resources Law
Enforcement Division, State Ports Authority and other groups.
"The Coast Guard and harbor people need them," McConnell said.
"The leader of the Coast Guard in Charleston, the captain of the
port, wrote a letter in support of the militia, and two members of
the Ports Authority are in strong support."
But the state Adjutant General's office, which governs the state
Army and Air National Guard and its emergency preparedness division,
is concerned the proposal lacks sufficient detail.
"What is the organization's mission?" said Col. Pete Brooks,
public information director for the Adjutant General's office. "What
is it going to look like? They need to define the structure first,
then build it."
Admiral David Shimp, the retired Navy captain in Charleston who
drafted the legislation, said the militia would serve under and
follow the mission of the Coast Guard, which is in charge of
maritime security.
The questions raised by the Adjutant General irritate McConnell,
who believes they center around a desire to control the militia.
"They've been busy as termites trying to undermine this thing,"
McConnell said.
Brooks said the Adjutant General found the New Jersey Naval
Militia cost that state $1.4 million the year following the World
Trade Center terrorist attacks.
But McConnell said the South Carolina militia won't cost the
state anything, because the force is strictly volunteer.
"If we create the militia and we run up against something that
costs money, we just won't do it," Shimp said.
McConnell said the House amended the bill to address some of the
Adjutant General's concerns.
"One of the amendments limits it so that someone can only have
two stars," McConnell said. "Give me a break. ... They also took
away the ability of the militia to have any regulatory
authority."
He said he would challenge the changes when a House-Senate
conference committee meets within the next few weeks to iron out
differences on the legislation.
Shimp explained volunteers for the proposed militia would have to
meet strict physical and training requirements. He said a Memorandum
of Understanding yet to be reached between the Navy and militia
would allow Navy reservists to serve in the militia.
Besides New Jersey, the only other state with an active,
federally-recognized naval militia is New York, Shimp said. That
militia has been in service since the 1880s and has hundreds of
volunteer members.
Contact Karen Addy at (803) 256-8300 or mailto:kaddy@heraldonline.com
