SC Air National Guard holds exercise near airports

MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Air National Guard is flying its F-16 jets in areas hear the Columbia and Florence airports.

Guard spokesman Senior Master Sgt. Ed Snyder says Wednesday’s activity is a training exercise and should not alarm any observers.

Snyder says the exercise involves members of the 169th Fighter Wing from McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Eastover.

They plan to escort a single-engine aircraft belonging to the Civil Air Patrol. Snyder says the exercise is coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration.

He says it is needed to train Guard members on airspace defense tactics. The unit has been conducting such training exercises as part of the nation’s North American Aerospace Defense Command missions since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.