Last year, Hurricane Helene tore through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee, leaving a trail of widespread destruction and devastation. In response, The South Carolina State Guard (State Defense Force), alongside other State Defense Forces, was activated to assist with emergency relief efforts. Their commitment to the mission was unwavering, performing numerous critical operations across the state. The Guard established Point of Distribution (POD) sites to provide food, water, and medical supplies to communities left without access to essential resources. Additionally, their troops conducted debris-clearing missions to ensure vital roads remained open for emergency responders. The Provost Marshal unit was mobilized to assist state and local law enforcement agencies, maintaining order in affected areas. Meanwhile, the Guard’s drone unit played a crucial role in assessing damage and relaying real-time information to Emergency Operation Centers, ensuring a rapid and effective deployment of aid to the most severely impacted regions.
Months after their tireless efforts during the storm, the South Carolina State Guard was recognized for their service at a ceremony held at a facility in North Augusta on January 18. This event was not for an active mission but rather a moment of appreciation for the vital role the Guard played in the recovery process. Members of the Guard gathered in the municipal courtroom to reflect on their contributions, including clearing over 11,080 miles of roads, supporting law enforcement, securing infrastructure, managing traffic, assessing damage via drone surveillance, and distributing essential supplies. Local leaders, such as Todd Glover, the executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina, acknowledged the significant impact the State Guard had on communities throughout the state. He emphasized that in many areas, the Guard was the primary response force, often outnumbering the entire city staff of smaller municipalities. He praised the dedication of these troops, noting that unlike spontaneous disaster volunteers, State Guardsmen sign up and train during times of peace to be prepared for moments of crisis.
Major General Leon Lott, Commanding General of the South Carolina State Guard, stressed the importance of coordination before and during emergencies to maximize efficiency. His sentiments were echoed by other leaders, including Maj. Keith Blandford and Capt. Andrew Brown, who worked closely with North Augusta’s city leadership in the critical early days following Hurricane Helene. Laurens County Administrator and State Guard officer Maj. Thomas Higgs highlighted the Guard’s unique advantage: while mobilizing the National Guard can take days, the State Guard can be on the ground within hours, providing immediate relief and allowing local governments to focus on long-term recovery efforts. The event also underscored the Guard’s commitment to sustainability, as Col. Glenn Remsen, leader of the First Civil Support Brigade, emphasized the need to maintain and strengthen the force for future generations. “All emergencies start local and end local,” he stated, reinforcing the Guard’s mission to remain a steadfast and reliable asset for the state, not just for today but well into the future.
No mission this time: SC State Guard back in North Augusta and recognized for Helene efforts
The now almost vacant Public Safety headquarters on Buena Vista Avenue played host to an outfit whose origins reach back more than 350 years, to 1670.
South Carolina State Guardsmen were packed into that tiny and dimly lit municipal courtroom, in the annex of the old headquarters, the morning of Jan. 18. There was no mission at hand; just a few jocular asides about a pending winter storm.
There was some training that day. But this was preceded by a recognition of their efforts here, of almost four months ago, after Tropical Storm Helene.
“It’s such a thankless service,” said Meredith Wright, county administrator for Barnwell. She expanded on that: the help is given, things are fixed, the Guard leaves, the work is forgotten.
Which is part of why the brigade was back in North Augusta for part of the weekend. And for Col. Glenn Remsen, who leads the First Civil Support Brigade, it was a good feeling to drive in and see the lights on and no trees blocking the way.
“We were able to contribute to bringing this city back to life,” he said.
“The equipped are not called to service, but the called are equipped for service”: MASC’s Todd Glover spoke to members of the First Civil Support Brigade Jan. 18.
“We saw the results of your training” clearing roads, providing meals; “It made a huge impact,” North Augusta’s Todd Glover said, speaking directly to those assembled. Glover is executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina and previously served as North Augusta city administrator.
“The equipped are not called to service, but the called are equipped for service,” he said. “When we get natural disasters, we get volunteers coming out of the woodwork. The difference between them and you, is that you sign up in times of calm.”
Glover later told Post and Courier North Augusta that when a natural disaster hits and the State Guard comes in, for many of South Carolina’s smaller towns, “chances are, they’re bringing more people than that city has on staff at all. They may be the only response in many of the areas we have.”
But “even in north Augusta, it made a huge difference,” he said.
Aiken’s newly elected statehouse Rep. Charlie Hartz gave the run-down of some of the First’s contributions: more than 11,080 miles of roads cleared, support given to law enforcement. Securing infrastructure, managing traffic, damage assessments done via drone, distribution of supplies. It was a litany of work that Hartz said boosted the region’s and the state’s resolve.
SCSG Commander Maj. Gen. Leon Lott, originally from Aiken, addresses the State Guardsmen packed into North Augusta’s tiny municipal courtroom the morning of Jan. 18.
Oct. 9, 2024, was the final day the SCSG was in North Augusta for Tropical Storm Helene. In disaster response, coordination between the Guard and both local and state government is paramount, Maj. Gen. Leon Lott said this week.
Maj. Gen. Leon Lott, originally from Aiken and now commander over all the South Carolina State Guard, emphasized the coordination that’s needed, both ahead of any mission and during it.
That was later echoed by both Maj. Keith Blandford and Capt. Andrew Brown, of the First Battalion, both of whom were in the thick of it last fall, meeting twice daily with North Augusta city leadership in the first days after Helene.
“When a disaster hits, it puts a whole different dynamic on local government leaders. We go from the mundane long-range planning and everything else we do to a reactionary phase,” Maj. Thomas Higgs said.
Higgs knows from experience: his other work is as Laurens County administrator.
Mobilizing the National Guard might take days, but the State Guard can be on site in hours, and having someone right away is “a tremendous relief and a weight off our shoulders” as administrators, he said. The more exigent relief is taken up by the Guardsmen, and government can re-focus on the long-range recovery.
Long-range was what the Guard had in mind for its training session on the 18th.
“All emergencies start local and end local,” Col. Remsen said. “What are we going to do to ensure that we can sustain what we did, not just this year, but 10 years down the line, 20 years down the line, or even when we hit 2150, so that this is a sustainable asset for the state?”
Elizabeth Hustad covers politics, government and business for The Post and Courier North Augusta. Follow her on Twitter at @ElizabethHustad.