COLUMBIA, S.C. - Taking a lesson from Hurricane Katrina, South Carolina's all-volunteer State Guard has formed a new unit to help communities work with government and law enforcement agencies in the event of a natural disaster or security crisis, its leaders said Tuesday.
"This new unit will help improve emergency response by forging good working relationships before a disaster even occurs," said State Guard Commander, Maj. Gen. Eli Wishart.
Wishart, who introduced the three-member "special liaison unit" at the Guard's headquarters, said they will begin work immediately and concentrate on telling officials in communities large and small across the state what the 1,500 volunteers in their organization can do.
"We need to find out what the communities need in the event of a crisis and inform them" of what the State Guard is capable of doing, Wishart said.
The State Guard doesn't intend to replace any law enforcement or South Carolina National Guard units, the general said.
"We are not replacing, we are complementing them," he said, noting the Guard comes under the authority of the state Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stan Spears.
This volunteer assistance is particularly needed in a time of tightened state budgets and the deployment of Guard troops outside the state, he said.
In the past, Wishart said, specially trained State Guard members have assisted local sheriff's officers and the State Law Enforcement Division in traffic control during hurricane evacuations. They worked with communications systems during the Graniteville train wreck and even accompany law enforcement on domestic violence calls, Wishart said.
The group sent 30 members to help local authorities handle the throngs of people at the Chitlin' Strut in Salley over the weekend, Wishart said.
They are unpaid and unarmed volunteers who wear either surplus uniforms or buy their own. They train one weekend a month, but as volunteers, must not always respond when called upon to serve.
State Comptroller Richard Eckstrom, who is a colonel in the Guard, said its members usually are those who have a desire to help their country in the "post-9/11 world. ... It changed the mind-set of those who wanted some role in Homeland Security."
The three-member group - all lieutenants - are Scott Malyerck of Irmo, executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party; Linda Gamble of Lexington, who works in the state treasurer's office; and Rick Daniel, also of Irmo, who is a special assistant to Eckstrom.
All have "solid, reliable contacts in government and in private business" that will help the State Guard work as an information conduit during times of crisis, Wishart said. "All of them have extensive experience in working with the public," he said.
The experiences of cities that had to deal with catastrophes like Katrina have shown that there is "a great need to be proactive with local, county and state governments," Malyerck said. "We hope to create an awareness of what our team can do."
Malyerck, 43, said he falls into the category of "private citizens who see a need" and want to help out.
"I don't know whether I'd be able to make it through basic training at Fort Jackson, but we all feel the need to give back" to the community, Malyerck said.
SUSANNE M. SCHAFER Associated Press |
