SC National Guard heads to Vermont to aid cleanup

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Engineers from the South Carolina Army National Guard are heading to Vermont to assist in storm cleanup operations in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Les Carroll says about 50 soldiers and 16 dump trucks are heading north on Thursday. Carroll says the 122nd Engineer Battalion from Edgefield and 178th Engineer Battalion from Rock Hill have been tapped for duty.

They are departing from the Lancaster National Guard Armory and the McCrady Training Center at Fort Jackson outside Columbia.

The spokesman says the units will be involved in debris removal and are expected to spend about two weeks in Vermont.