Sumter County’s Poinsett bombing range to host Army special forces

Army special forces soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment are scheduled to perform live night fire exercises on Poinsett Electronic Combat Range in Wedgefield next week.

The regiment’s 3rd Battalion from Fort Benning, Ga., is also training this week and next at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover.

Air Force F-16 jets will also be training with inert rockets at the range from noon to 10:30 p.m through Thursday.

Residents and land owners in the area surrounding Poinsett Range might experience loud noises and ground vibrations, as well as noise from rocket training.

The training involves soldiers from the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command stationed at Fort Benning. It was described in an S.C. National Guard release last week as “a routine military exercise to maintain their high level of readiness.”

During the exercise, the soldiers will be tested on their combat skills with “tough, realistic training,” the release said. A similar exercise was held in April 2015.

Guard officials warned of periods of increased air traffic at night, including low-flying aircraft such as helicopters, tilt-rotor aircraft and airplanes, the release said. Also expect the discharge of weapons and training devices intended to make the military exercise as realistic as possible.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 4:49 PM.