SC National Guard conducts air defense exercise

MCINTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Air National Guard is conducting an air defense exercise near the airports in Anderson and Columbia.

Guard spokesman Senior Master Sgt. Ed Snyder says Tuesday’s exercise involves F-16 fighter jets in a training exercise and should not alarm people.

Snyder says the 169th Fighter Wing from McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Eastover is conducting the exercise with a single-engine aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol. It will take place between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The training is coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration and helps train Guard members in activities needed to defend America’s air space.

The unit takes part in such training as part of the nation’s North American Aerospace Defense Command mission in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 2001.