COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - About 120 soldiers from the South Carolina Army National Guard are departing for training in Texas before deploying on a yearlong mission in Afghanistan.
Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Les Carroll says the soldiers of the 742nd Support Maintenance Company leaving Sunday are based at McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Eastover. They will train at Fort Hood, Texas, and shift to Afghanistan in late March.
The unit maintains vehicles, small arms and electronic equipment.
A week ago, 100 members of the 228th Tactical Signal Brigade from Spartanburg headed to Fort Lewis in Washington for training, and depart for Afghanistan in March.
Carroll says about 600 members of the South Carolina Guard are posted to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
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