South Carolina Army National Guard The South Carolina Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard . Nationwide , the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the U . S . Army ' s available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization . National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau . South Carolina Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army . The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards . The South Carolina Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of South Carolina . The South Carolina Army National Guard is composed of approximately 10 , 000 soldiers and airmen ( as of February , 2009 ) , and maintains 80 facilities across the state with over 2 million square feet ( 180 , 000 m² ) of space . Duties . National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces , and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve . Unlike Army Reserve members , National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually ( except through voluntary transfers and Temporary DutY Assignments TDY ) , but only as part of their respective unit s . However , there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations ( 2001 - ? ) ; the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard . Active Duty Callups . For much of the final decades of the twentieth century , National Guard personnel typically served " One weekend a month , two weeks a year " , with a portion working for the Guard in a full - time capacity . The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit ( or National Guardsman ) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service . More specifically , current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months ( cumulative ) in one six - year enlistment period ( this policy is due to change 1 August 2007 , the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months , individual states have differing policies ) . History . The South Carolina Army National Guard was originally formed in 1670 . The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militia s into the present National Guard system . South Carolina aviation troops and their AH - 64 Apache attack helicopters were called to Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch between August 1999 and February 2000 . As Task Force 151 , commanded by LTC David Anderson , the Task Force was augmented by Mississippi and Minnesota Army National Guard units , along with individual personnel from the National Guards of New Hampshire , Arizona , and Washington state . South Carolina ' s C Co , 1 - 151 AVN was deployed to Kosovo under operational control of 1 - 104 AVN of the Pennsylvania ARNG ( as were National Guard aviation units from Alabama and Nebraska ) during KFOR 5A operations from July 2003 to February 2004 . HHC , A , B , D , and L Companies of the 1 - 151 AVN were deployed as Task Force 1 - 151 Aviation during Operation Iraqi Freedom II & III from October 2004 - October 2005 , where they gained fame flying their AH - 64A Apaches in an experimental two - tone grey scheme in support of the 1st Stryker Brigade , 25th Infantry Division ( Light ) , and then supported operations of the II Marine Expeditionary Force ( II MEF ) in Al - Anbar Province . Task Force 1 - 151 was augmented with National Guard personnel from Tennessee , Missouri , and Maryland and the Individual Ready Reserve of the Army . L Company , 1 - 151 was augmented with National Guard personnel from Idaho , Iowa , Kentucky , Ohio , and Wyoming , serving with distinction during OIF . In the fall of 2008 , a CH - 47D Detachment , B Co , 2 - 238 AVN was activated in support of OEF , and deployed to Afghanistan . Paired with Illinois National Guard , B Co was split between three different forward operating bases , Bagram , Kandahar / Shank , and Salerno , with each acting independently of the others . The detachment ' s main missions included resupply , troop movement , and air assaults on high value targets . B Co , 2 - 238 returned home in fall of 2009 after serving with great distinction and perseverance during Operation Enduring Freedom . II . The 263rd Air Defense Artillery is one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812 .