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HOME > PUBLICATIONS > Revering the Regiment – A Tribute to S.C.’s State Defense Forces

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July 20, 2009

Revering the Regiment – A Tribute to S.C.’s State Defense Forces

W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

Author’s note: This article focuses on S.C.’s State Defense Forces. But 22 states nationwide field state guards and naval militias, key elements of the nation’s homeland defense structure.
 
Like any rifleman worth his powder, I love and revere “the regiment” – a metaphor in this instance for South Carolina’s combined State Defense Forces (SDF): the S.C. State Guard (a battalion-strength military organization, subdivided into reinforced-company sized units unorthodoxically called “brigades”) and the Joint Services Detachment (JSD). And I love “the regiment” for reasons that transcend the kinds of love one has for most tangible things.
 
Granted, I do not – nor will I ever – hold the same level of esteem and adoration for our state defense forces that I hold for my U.S. Marine Corps. That would be an unfair comparison, considering the forces themselves as well as my relationship to both: Though I am a currently-serving officer in the state’s defense forces (specifically the JSD), I previously served as a Marine rifle (infantry) squad leader. I’ve been to war with Marines as a civilian (former Marine) journalist. And I’ve long maintained a close, active relationship with Marines through my work as a professional military analyst and writer.
 
Fact is, I am inextricably connected to the Corps. Marines are the finest soldiers in the world, and I won’t pretend otherwise.
 
So why this somewhat-parallel affection for “the regiment” – our State Defense Forces?
 
Those having never slogged through the mud with a rifle or experienced the sound of rounds cracking above their heads, might roll their eyes at my expression of such affection. But then those who have never soldiered, might well-be without a personal frame-of-reference conducive to any such love or affection for any regiment: “Might” being the optimal word here.
 
So what specifically about our state’s defense forces do I hold in such high esteem?
 
History
 
First is our SDF’s uniquely American – and singularly South Carolinian – history and tradition:
 
As much as I love my Marine Corps, which was born in 1775, my immediate commander, Brig. Gen. Eugene F. Rogers (also a former Marine), reminds me that S.C.’s First Provincial Militia (the predecessor to our current S.C. State Guard, the Guard’s closely related Joint Services Detachment, and our also-related Army and Air National Guards) was established in 1670, more than a century before the birth of our Continental Army, Navy, and Marines.
 
In fact, on Sept. 15, 1775 – exactly 25 days before the birth of our Marine Corps – the S.C. Militia seized British-held Fort Johnson in Charleston: a daring action overshadowed by the dramatic Battle of Sullivan’s Island the following June pitting Col. William Moultrie’s S.C. Militia against a far more lethal Royal Navy task force under the command of Adm. Sir Peter Parker. The Carolinians won, and the battle has since been described as the “first decisive victory of American forces over the British Navy” during the American Revolution.
 
(Incidentally: It was during the Battle of Sullivan’s Island that my great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Capt. Thomas Woodward – commanding a company of S.C. Rangers on Moultrie's extreme left – helped thwart an attempt by Royal Marines to land on the island.)
 
Then we have the Gadsden Flag: Arguably the most-famous of America’s pre-Independence banners (and perhaps should be our SDF standard), it features a rattlesnake on a bright yellow field and the stirring motto, “Don't Tread on Me.” The flag, presented to the Continental Navy and Marines as well as to the S.C. Provincial Congress, was designed by one of “the regiment’s” own, Militia Col. (future brigadier general) Christopher Gadsden.
 
Frankly, this entire piece could be devoted to the history and tradition of “the regiment.” But let’s move on to the other particulars that make “the regiment” great.
 
Service to Country
 
The second particular is that “the regiment” offers its officers and Guardsmen a unique opportunity to serve our country: an unquenchable, seemingly inexplicable compulsion affecting patriots and others – like myself – who quite literally love America more than our own lives.
 
Yes, I know: “Eye-rolling” by those who do not have the same love of country, and so refuse to accept that such a love truly exists.
 
Economy & Efficiency
 
Third, “the regiment” – its Guardsmen being unpaid volunteers yet trained and equipped for every homeland contingency from natural disasters to terrorist attacks – offers more bang for the buck (pardon the cliché) than most comparatively-sized domestic security forces. “Our state defense forces constitute the most cost-effective deep reserve force that is dedicated entirely to the needs of our state governors,” says Congressman Joe Wilson.
 
The fourth particular – and a bargain considering the third – is the natural order and efficiency in any well-led “regiment” (provided the officers and Guardsmen never fail to embrace the organic military culture). 
 
Camaraderie
 
Lastly – and for me personally – there is the camaraderie of one of the most amazing groups of men and women I have ever known.
 
In the JSD alone, I serve in the company of Federal judges, attorneys, accountants, physicians, legislators, PhD researchers, museum directors, and leading business professionals, most of whom have distinguished prior military service under their belts, and all of whom have the same drive to serve that I do.

Of the five general-officers I serve under – and to whom I regularly report – three are combat veterans, two of them are U.S. Army Rangers, one is a retired commanding general of the State Guard, one is the current CG, one commands the JSD, and one is a World War II-era U.S. Marine whose silver oak leaves I now wear.
 
Moreover, in the nine short months I’ve spent with “the regiment,” I’ve had the honor of direct interaction with at least six Medal of Honor recipients: primarily working with them in conjunction with our National Medal of Honor Convention to be held in Charleston in 2010 (The convention – hosted by the S.C. State Guard Foundation and the Citadel – is an SDF production). One of the Medal of Honor recipients administered to me the oath of office, swearing me into “the regiment.” Another attended my promotion.
 
But like most things we love, there are things I do not love about “the regiment.”
 
Shortcomings & Misperceptions
 
First, there is a wrong-headed perception among some in the regular Army that SDF are nothing more than undisciplined militia.
 
Nothing could be further from the truth, and correcting that misperception is something we need to work on.
 
Second, there is a parallel and equally unfortunate perception among some in the general public that state defense forces are the equivalent of civic or social clubs, but with uniformed members, when in fact our state defense forces constitute a legally existing military organization and a key component of our broader homeland defense apparatus.
 
Third, there are the abuses of (and general disregard for) military culture primarily by a very small segment within our SDF who don’t fully understand military culture, have little-to-no respect for military culture, and consequently fail to embrace military culture. By their defiance of military customs, courtesies, and the broader military culture; this small percentage within the SDF contributes to the sometimes less-than-stellar public perception of “the regiment.”
 
To be fair, however, the SDF’s military-cultural shortcomings – and any list of shortcomings would indeed be short – must be viewed in the full knowledge that all SDF Guardsmen are unpaid volunteers, many of whom are putting in far more hours and days each month beyond their scheduled drills and field problems, and many have no prior military experience.
 
A Few Good Men (And Women)
 
SDF soldiers are not Uncle Sam’s Marines, nor the regular Army. Nor do they pretend to be. But in their own legitimate, constitutionally mandated right – and with their increasing significance in the post-9/11 world – S.C.’s state defense forces are an inexpensive, highly motivated, force-multiplier operating in an unpredictable, asymmetric-warfare environment (though we might do a better job of reinforcing this reality in the minds of lesser-experienced officers and Guardsmen).
 
In short, if comparing apples to apples, there is no question in my mind: My metaphoric “regiment” – S.C.’s state defense forces – ranks among the finest military organizations of its kind.
 
But we can’t just say we’re good – all military organizations say they’re good. We have to prove it.
 
 
— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
 

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