Overnight military exercises to be conducted at McEntire Joint National Guard Base next week will include low-flying aircraft at night and be accompanied by weapons firings.

Sunday through Wednesday, the S.C. Air National Guard base is hosting soldiers from Fort Benning’s 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, as well as Army and Air Force special operations units from Florida and Kentucky.

To make the exercise as realistic as possible, participants will use training ammunition and a number of low-flying rotary and fixed-wing aircraft during late-night and pre-dawn combat scenarios.

This is a routine exercise, the Guard said in a news release, conducted periodically to maintain high levels of readiness for military personnel.

-- Jeff Wilkinson