| State Guard fills in when National Guard's away COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The State Guard, first established more than 300 years ago to protect residents in the settlement of Charles Town, now has a new role. The all-volunteer organization will help do everything from direct traffic to coordinate relief supply shipments when the next hurricane threatens South Carolina. The 1,500-person force is needed now more than ever because of the number of National Guardsmen from the state called up for the war in Iraq and other homeland defense duties, said Lt. Col. Pete Brooks, spokesman for the South Carolina National Guard. The State Guard has other duties too, like recruiting Americorps volunteers for neighborhood crime watches in the Lowcountry and volunteering to provide honor guards at funerals around Lancaster. The State Guard traces its roots back to 1670, when it was founded as a militia to protect the settlement of Charles Town. State Guard units are part of the state Military Department and under the command of the governor and adjutant general. But many units work hand-in-hand with local agencies. Members wear uniforms, just like the U.S. Army, are organized in squads, platoons, companies, battalions and brigades and use the same rank structure from private to general. But unlike members of the Army or National Guard, State Guard members are not armed and they cannot be deployed outside South Carolina. And the State Guard manages to do all of its work with a budget of just $105,000 a year. Recently, the State Guard was given specific duties for when a hurricane threatens the state, commander Maj. Gen. Eli Wishart said. About 120 members would be stationed at the junction of Interstates 26 and 77 near Columbia to direct traffic and answer questions. Other members will help evacuate coastal areas, staff the state's welcome centers to make sure relief supplies go to the right place and help sheriffs' offices by answering phones or riding along with deputies. The State Guard has other duties, too. A brigade of the guard, organized last year, works under the Americorps program. Some of the volunteers have set up neighborhood crime watches in Dorchester County. "We had had several break-ins, drug dealers were living in our neighborhood, and there was a murder just two doors up from me," said Americorps volunteer Susan Gillespie, 43, of Summerville. "Enough was enough." Sheriff Ray Nash calls the guard "South Carolina's best kept secret." "It's something every sheriff should use to augment forces in their county," he said.
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