TheState.com: S.C. at War

Sailors pitch in to help mother

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:08 EDT

The U.S. and Iraq

Vicki Brown’s to-do list seemed as thick as the phone book.

First, she needed a dog run built for her family’s pooch, Sarge. Then, Brown wanted to fill in an ornamental pond in her backyard. Next, the fence along the rear of her property had to be fixed.

But with one son in the Navy and another in the Army, Brown, a single mom, needed help.

Thankfully for Brown, a group of Navy reservists came to her rescue.

'We own one of those red stripes on the flag'

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:08 EDT

A nearly full moon lit the Afghan sky as a rocket screamed over Lt. Tony Hedrick’s hut and slammed into a building next to his base.

Hedrick checked his watch. It was 1:30 a.m., about the time Taliban fighters usually launched attacks.

The date was more remarkable.

It was July 4, 2007.

Today, Hedrick and more than 1,000 fellow S.C. National Guard soldiers are back home from Afghanistan. They won’t have to worry about taking cover from rocket attacks.

Afghanistan troop deaths highest since ’01

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:45 EDT

WASHINGTON — More American and coalition troops died in Afghanistan last month than during any other month since the American-led invasion began in 2001, the latest evidence of a strengthening Taliban insurgency that has menaced NATO forces and reclaimed control over some southern and eastern parts of the country.

The violence in Afghanistan has surged at the same time as the number of attacks and American deaths in Iraq has fallen. Among the American-led forces in the two countries, there were 46 troops killed in Afghanistan, compared with 31 in Iraq, the second straight month in which combat deaths in Afghanistan exceeded those in Iraq.

A recent Pentagon report about Afghanistan painted a stark picture of security conditions inside the country, a militant force that has “coalesced into a resilient insurgency” and a central government in Kabul that still cannot extend its reach into the hinterlands.

An American commander, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, has said that militant attacks on coalition troops increased by 40 percent from January to May compared with the same period last year.

The violence has spiked even as the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan approaches its highest level since 2001. Roughly 32,000 American troops are currently deployed inside the country, up from 25,000 in 2005. The Pentagon is now considering sending an additional 7,000 troops to help tamp down the worsening violence.

In memory of a Marine

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:57 EDT

The sign will be like any other, posted on a roadway for passers-by to see. But it will bear the name of Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua L. Torrence, a 2003 White Knoll High graduate killed in 2005 while serving in Iraq. Wednesday, his parents, Vernon and Regina Torrence; politicians; state Department of Transportation representatives; and school and district officials gathered to dedicate a stretch of Platt Springs Road in front of the school, from Kyzer Road to S. Lake Drive, in his honor. Last year, the school also named the new football stadium field house in his memory. But naming the road after Torrence is “a more defined symbol of the desire that the community had to remember Josh,” said 1st Sgt. David Pelley, who leads White Knoll’s Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. “Most people don’t see the field house, but you can’t miss the road,” he said.

S.C. National Guard soldiers heading to Iraq

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:19 EDT

More than 60 S.C. National Guard soldiers from a Black Hawk helicopter company will be deploying to Iraq this summer.

The troops, from the Guard’s Company A, 2/149th Aviation Battalion, will spend two months training at Fort Sill, Okla., before deploying.

They will be leaving South Carolina this weekend. Farewell ceremonies will be held at 3 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. Sunday at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover.

The unit is expected to return to South Carolina in summer 2009.

S.C. war dead rest on Normandy bluff

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:49 EDT

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — The Battle of Normandy, which started with history’s most powerful coastal invasion force here 64 years ago today, is written in the white marble headstones of the American cemetery.

Names of soldiers — including 112 South Carolinians — their units, dates they died, and the American states from which they came, are etched into the smooth stones.

The dates and units track the progress of the three-month World War II campaign to drive the Germans from coastal France.

Today, ranks of crosses and Stars of David glisten even on the frequent cloudy days of northern Europe. Visitors look down on Omaha Beach, one of the landing points for invasion troops.

Located high on a bluff overlooking the English Channel, the cemetery has the graves of 9,387 soldiers, sailors and airmen who died to free Europe of Nazi domination. An additional 1,557 whose bodies were never recovered are listed on a wall enclosing the Garden of the Missing.

Through her son's eyes

Sat, 31 May 2008 23:03 EDT

With every brush stroke, Columbia artist Suzy Shealy remembers her son Army Sgt. Joseph Derrick.

As Shealy paints scenes from Iraq, she places herself in her son’s combat boots in the dusty streets of Baghdad.

She stands watch at dusk as a Black Hawk helicopter flies on the horizon.

She patrols an Iraqi marketplace.

She overlooks a mosque in Mosul.

S.C. at War: S.C. soldier dies in combat

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:53 EDT

Spc. David Lee Leimbach should have been home in South Carolina, resting after a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Instead, he volunteered to serve six more months with the New York National Guard.

On Sunday, Leimbach, 38, of Taylors was killed in Bala Baluk, Afghanistan, when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. Defense Department said Tuesday.

He became the fourth soldier from the S.C. National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team to be killed in Afghanistan. Funeral arrangements have not been made.

Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Moorer, who was Leimbach’s platoon sergeant during the first tour in Afghanistan, described Leimbach as the ideal soldier.

S.C. guardsman killed in Afghanistan

Tue, 27 May 2008 16:00 EDT

A South Carolina National Guardsman has been killed by hostile forces in Afghanistan.

Specialist David Lee Leimbach of Taylors was killed May 25, the S.C. Adjutant General's Office reported this afternoon.

Leimbach, a member of the 1st Battalion 118th Infantry stationed in Fountain Inn, had recently completed his tour with the 218th Brigade Combat Team but volunteered to say in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (RSTA) of the New York National Guard.

"I am saddened by the news of the death of Specialist David Leimbach," Adjutant Gen. Maj. Gen. Stanhope Spears said. "He was a brave soldier who served his country with honor and valor."

The office provided no additional information about the incident.

Fort Jackson building named for fallen soldier

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:39 EDT

If Spc. Thomas Caughman were alive today, he would not tell his family about the honor about to be bestowed upon him.

It’s not that the combat engineer from Lexington would be embarrassed. He just never was a man who reveled in awards or fancy ceremonies, his parents said.

Now, in the words of the soldier’s mother, Jane Caughman, “Whether he wants it or not, he’s got it.”

Next Sunday, June 1 — in the calendar’s shadow of Monday’s Memorial Day — the 81st Regional Support Command will put Thomas Caughman’s name on its new headquarters at Fort Jackson.

Caughman, 20, was the first soldier in the 81st to die in combat in Iraq. He was killed June 9, 2004.

New building a result of base closings

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:55 EDT

The newest building on Fort Jackson soon will be home to an Army Reserve unit that is moving to Columbia from Birmingham, Ala.

The building — which will be named after Spc. Thomas Caughman, a Lexington Reservist killed in Iraq in 2004 — will house the 81st Regional Support Command. The building features offices, a computer training lab, an auditorium and displays from the unit’s 100-year history.

The building will be dedicated during a ceremony next Sunday, June 1.

The 81st oversees Army Reserve units in nine Southeastern states and Puerto Rico. That region includes 268 Reserve centers, 23 maintenance shops and three equipment depots.

The 81st is in charge of facilities, payroll, human resources and other management functions for those Reserve units, said Maj. Gen. Charles Gorton, the 81st’s commander.

200 S.C. soldiers arrive as early surprise

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:34 EDT

More than 200 soldiers from the S.C. National Guard's 218th Brigade Combat Team arrived at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., in a surprise early return, WISTV.com is reporting.

More than 1,600 S.C. Guard members have been deployed to Afghanistan for the past 12 months. The first group of about 160 soldiers arrived home two weeks ago.

This second group of returning Guard members includes soldiers from Darlington, Fountain Inn, North Charleston and West Columbia armories, plus other locations around the state.

The returning soldiers will go through post-mobility processing at Fort Bragg for four to five days before returning their home armories. However, some will remain at Fort Bragg until the entire 218th is demobilized in mid-May.

From staff reports

Iraq veteran dies in Bluffton wreck

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:12 EDT

The S.C. Highway Patrol suspects alcohol played a role in a Bluffton wreck Saturday night that killed an Army sergeant who had just returned from his fourth tour in Iraq.

Sgt. Jason J. Estvanik, 25, of Raeford, N.C., died at about 10:45 p.m. Saturday when his 1999 Pontiac Firebird veered off U.S. 278 and into the woods near Rose Hill. The car flipped and Estvanik, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, was ejected.

His passenger, Justin M. Stresky, 26, of Springdale, Pa., was treated and released from Memorial Health University in Savannah.

Estvanik returned from Iraq a month or two ago and was on his way home from a wedding, according to friends. He was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He served in the Army¹s Psychological Operations unit on Special Operations Media Team Bravo, which uses broadcasts radio messages to the public and gathers information to help secure schools and other sites.

"He was a real good guy," said Michael Herman, who served two tours with Estvanik. "He took care of his soldiers, that¹s for sure. He was a go-getter. He volunteered for things he didn't have to do ... If I had to pick a team to go back, he'd be the first person I'd choose because you'd know that he'd have your back if something went down."

Bottleneck delays S.C. troops' return from Afghanistan

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:25 EDT

Updated 10:25 a.m.
CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan -- The homecoming for S.C. National Guard soldiers has been delayed as the military tries to find a plane to fly the troops home.

Over the weekend, a planeload of 218th Brigade Combat Team members flew on a U.S. Air Force transport plane from Kabul, where Camp Phoenix is located, to Kuwait.

There, the soldiers were to transfer to a charter flight to Fort Bragg, N.C., where the 218th is being demobilized.

But a "high volume of troop movements" in and out of Afghanistan has caused a delay for the S.C. troops, according to a spokesman for Task Force Phoenix. The S.C. brigade is in charge of the task force.

The spokesman noted that as the S.C. troops are moving out of Afghanistan, about 3,200 Marines from Camp LeJeune, N.C., and another 7,200 soldiers from the Army’s 101st Airborne are arriving in the country. Moving out at the same time as the 218th are some 7,000 soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, which headquartered at Fort Bragg.

S.C. Guard members returning today

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:58 EDT

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. - Let the homecoming begin.

The first of 1,600 S.C. National Guard troops serving in Afghanistan flew into Pope Air Force Base at 5 a.m.

"It's unexplainable," Pfc. Edlynn Atkins of Beaufort said about the feeling of almost being home. "I’m on an adrenaline rush."

The 160 soldiers from the 218th Combat Brigade were greeted by Maj. Gen. Stan Spears, the S.C. Guard’s adjutant general, and a few other senior officers. Only four family members made the trip to North Carolina to meet the arriving plane.

"I can’t thank you enough for the tremendous job you did for your state and your country," Spears said in a brief speech.

S.C. Guard troops returning today

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:35 EDT

The first members of the main body of the S.C. National Guard's 218th Brigade Combat Team are expected to return today to the United States.

The first group of about 160 soldiers is expected to arrive at 8:30 p.m. today at Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

The group includes citizen-soldiers from West Columbia, Orangeburg, Darlington, Fountain Inn and Walterboro.

More than 1,800 S.C. National Guard soldiers have been in Afghanistan for a year, helping train the Afghan military and police. About 200 security troops returned in January, leaving behind the brigade's main body.

The rest of the 218th's soldiers are expected to return to South Carolina between now and mid-May.

National Guard | S.C. leader is a road warrior

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:39 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Like a pair of slalom skiers, two SUVs weave through a crowded four-lane highway to Kabul International Airport.

The vehicles make a quick right turn, enter a gate at the airport and park next to a ramp, where a small jet plane waits.

Seemingly in stride, Brig. Gen. Bob Livingston and his entourage from nearby Camp Phoenix step aboard the plane, plunk down in leather seats and prepare for takeoff.

Their destination is Kandahar Province, the home of the Taliban and a hotbed of the insurgency that is threatening the Afghan government. And Livingston is off to see if he can help fix a problem.

Livingston, who rose from a private to one-star leader of the S.C. National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team, estimates he spends about 60 percent of his time in Afghanistan on the road.

'A better option'

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:09 EST

DILLON — Joining the Army seemed like the right thing to do for Carson Turner’s 17-year-old son.

“The Army would be a better option for him than sticking around town and trying to find something,” Turner said.

Turner’s son, Matt, is like many young people in Dillon County, where one in 10 workers is jobless.

In part due to the lack of local job prospects, the county’s young people sign up to join the Army at a rate three times higher than the state average, an analysis of recruiting statistics shows.

Almost seven of every 1,000 young men and women in Dillon County join the active-duty Army, that analysis found. That compares with the S.C. average of slightly more than two enlistees per 1,000 youths.

Youths in high-jobless counties most likely to join Army

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:06 EST

For every 1,000 youths in Dillon County, slightly more than six joined the Army in 2007. That’s three times the state average. Dillon also had one of the state’s highest unemployment rates.

Dillon and other S.C. counties with high unemployment rates proved good recruiting grounds for the Army in 2007. Eight of the 10 counties with the highest Army enlistment rates had jobless rates that exceeded the state average.

County	Recruits per	Jobless	1,000 youth	rate
State	2.12	6.6%

Dillon 6.7 10.4% Dorchester 4.1 5.1% Marion 4 12.8% Kershaw 3.6 6.1% Sumter 3.5 8.6% Hampton 3.3 8.9% Marlboro 3.2 11.8% Calhoun 3.1 7.2% Chesterfield 3 8.6% Oconee 2.9 7.2% Others

Richland 2.6 5.7%Lexington 2.2 4.5%Counties with most Army recruits

Across the state, 1,296 men and women joined the active-duty Army in 2007. The top 10 S.C. counties for Army recruiters were:

S.C. blacks enlist at growing rate

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:06 EST

The thump, thump, thump bass of hip-hop music pounded out of loudspeakers.

Teens swarmed around video games and signed up for a free iPOD Nano.

“Let’s go, let’s go. You can do it,” Sgt. 1st Class John Sanders hollered, as one girl tried to hold on to the chinning bar.

So it went Tuesday morning at Lower Richland High School, where Army recruiters had set up shop.

Billed as one of the Army’s activities to mark Black History Month, the event drew plenty of recruiting prospects during the day at the school, where 80 percent of the students are African-American.

Troops in Afghanistan try to keep busy

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 22:46 EST

Today’s Christmas will be just another day for 1,800 S.C. National Guard soldiers in Afghanistan.

The soldiers will man watchtowers, escort convoys and push paper through the labyrinth of Army channels.

It’s the same chores they’ve been doing since May, when the 218th Brigade Combat Team arrived in Afghanistan to take command of Task Force Phoenix.

“For me, being away from my wife, my children, my home and my church makes it difficult to think of December 25, 2007, as anything other than just another day in Afghanistan to be crossed off my calendar,” said Lt. Col. Zeb Williams of Columbia.

To make the day special, the troops will have religious services, decorating contests, holiday meals and a few minutes off to call home.

Soldier savors time with loved ones during break

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:53 EST

POMARIA — The moments have been fleeting.

A mother’s hand resting on her son’s shoulder.

A wife’s giggle as her husband steals shrimp off her plate at a holiday party.

A son taking his father for a spin with his newly minted driver’s license.

A daughter’s delight in her father’s visit to her school.

Lessons learned in six months

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:33 EDT

Editor’s note: Chuck Crumbo, The State’s military reporter, is returning to South Carolina for a break after spending six months in Afghanistan with the S.C. National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team. We asked him to come up with five things he had learned about the Afghan war while overseas. Here’s his list:

1. IT’S STILL UP FOR GRABS

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s future is uncertain today, six years after a U.S.-led coalition drove Osama bin Laden and his band of terrorists into this country’s mountains.

In the past year, the United States has upped its commitment of troops and money. Some allies also are contributing more to the fight.

But the Taliban and bin Laden’s al-Qaida network appear to be on the comeback trail, fueled by cash from Afghanistan’s booming drug trade.

South Carolinians heard, felt blast

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:28 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan - Capt. David Brooks was about to dig into his breakfast cereal Tuesday morning when a blast rocked the dining hall at Camp Phoenix.

“Stuff started falling from the ceiling,” said Brooks of Cheraw. “I said, ‘We better get out of here.’ ”

Outside, Brooks could see black smoke rising from just south of the base. A suicide bomber in a car had attacked a convoy near the base’s main gate, wounding four U.S. soldiers and three Afghans.

Names of the wounded troops and their units were withheld until their families could be notified. The blast killed the bomber.

Camp Phoenix, located on the outskirts of the Afghanistan capital, is headquarters of Task Force Phoenix, under the command of the S.C. National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team.

NY Guard sending 1,700-soldier force to Afghanistan in '08

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:58 EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. - More than 1,700 members of the New York Army National Guard will be sent to Afghanistan by next year to help train the Afghan army and police, guard officials said Tuesday.

The New York Guard members will take over Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VII in May from the South Carolina National Guard's 218th Brigade, which has 1,800 soldiers in Afghanistan.

The initial New York security units have already been mobilized by the Department of Defense to begin moving in September, with the bulk of the force planning for deployment over the next six months.

Syracuse-based headquarters elements of the 27th Brigade Combat Team will lead the units taking over Task Force Phoenix.

The force will include a "training assistance group" drawn from the Guard's 106th Regional Training Institute at Camp Smith in Westchester County, "mentoring teams" from combat and combat support units, and logistic and support personnel from the 427th Forward Support Battalion at various armories around the state. The security force will include soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry in Western New York and the Plattsburgh-based Company B, 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry.

Training Afghan soldiers among duties for S.C. soldiers

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:26 EDT

POL-E-CHARKI, Afghanistan — Just like the Texas patriots who fought at the Alamo, some S.C. National Guard troops find themselves surrounded.

But the forces outside these walls are friendly.

Welcome to Camp Alamo, home to some members of the 218th Brigade Combat Team.

The South Carolinians are here to help train the Afghan National Army. In addition, soldiers from the brigade’s infantry battalion provide security for 300 U.S. and coalition members, including 80 from South Carolina, who live inside the walls.

The outpost, only a few square blocks, is in the middle of the sprawling Kabul Military Training Center.

Spratt, Wilson visit S.C. troops in ‘forgotten war’

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:22 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Bearing gifts and handshakes, U.S. Reps. John Spratt and Joe Wilson of South Carolina led a fact-finding mission Wednesday to Camp Phoenix, where a S.C. National Guard brigade is based.

The South Carolinians are part of a four-member congressional contingent touring Afghanistan this week, visiting military and civilian leaders.

For Wilson, a Republican from Springdale, it was a chance to reunite with some of the soldiers he served with when he was chief lawyer for the Guard’s Newberry-based 218th Brigade.

The Newberry unit is the parent of the 218th Brigade Combat Team, which has about 1,800 soldiers in Afghanistan.

The congressmen also were briefed by Guard Brig. Gen. Bob Livingston about Task Force Phoenix, the mission the S.C. brigade has undertaken. The task force is responsible for training the Afghan army and police.

From Afghanistan: S.C. congressmen visit Camp Phoenix

Wed, 30 May 2007 10:32 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Bearing gifts and handshakes, U.S. Reps. John Spratt and Joe Wilson, both of South Carolina, led a fact-finding mission Wednesday to Camp Phoenix, where a S.C. National Guard brigade is headquartered.

The South Carolinians are half of a four-member non-partisan congressional contingent that's touring Afghanistan this week, visiting with military and Afghan civilian leaders.

For Wilson, a Republican from Springdale in Lexington County, the trip was a chance to be reunited with some of the S.C. soldiers who he served with when he was the chief military lawyer for the Newberry-based 218th Brigade.

Spratt, a York Democrat, visited with his Upstate constituents.

It was important for the congressmen to visit, Spratt said. He labeled Afghanistan "the forgotten war," adding its outcome may be more important to the United States than the war in Iraq.

Brigade takes over tough task

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:24 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — South Carolina National Guard leaders began planning for a possible mission to Afghanistan almost a year ago.

All spring they and some 1,800 soldiers went through rigorous training in preparation for the task.

On Monday, the Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team finally took over command of Task Force Phoenix, a mission aimed at providing the Afghan people with a secure and peaceful country.

During a Memorial Day ceremony, the Newberry-headquartered brigade succeeded Oregon’s 41st Brigade Combat Team as the sixth National Guard unit to command the task force.

“We have a big task ahead of us,” said 218th commander Brig. Gen. Robert Livingston, of Gaston. “We will do it together and take care of each other.”

Notebook from Afghanistan

Mon, 21 May 2007 17:07 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — A convoy of armored SUVs swirled into the parking lot Monday outside the Camp Phoenix headquarters.

The usual procession of generals stepped out of the vehicles. Then, a tall, distinguished looking man in a business suit and body armor, emerged from a vehicle.

U.S. ambassador William Wood, who’s been on the job just five weeks, came to the base to get the lowdown on Task Force Phoenix, charged with training the Afghan army and national police.

Joining Wood was Brig. Gen. Bob Livingston of Columbia, commander of the S.C. National Guard’s 218th Brigade Combat Team, which heads up Task Force Phoenix.

“This task force ... is doing great new things for Afghanistan,” Wood said.