GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Sixty members of the South Carolina National Guard are heading to Afghanistan.
The members of the 238th Aviation Unit were heading to Texas on Thursday for a month of training before go to Afghanistan to support U.S. military operations.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Barkley said the group includes 13 pilots. The rest of the group are support personnel for six CH-47 Chinook helicopters that will head overseas with them.
Barkley said it will be the first time they have used the new Chinook F-Model.
He says it’s the third time the unit has been sent to Afghanistan. He said many of them have also been to Iraq and Kuwait.
South Carolina Deputy Adjutant Gen. Van McCarty said the unit has been preparing for the deployment for nearly a year.
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