SC Guard chief: troops in Afghanistan make headway

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Adjutant Gen. Robert Livingston predicts a busy tempo this year for the state’s Army and Air National Guard forces, based on his recent visit with units in Afghanistan.

The commander of the state’s 11,000-strong force says he was very impressed with the progress made by the hundreds of men and women deployed to the combat zone.

Livingston spent time between Christmas and New Year’s visiting a small unit of soldiers and aviators in an airlift group from Columbia and some 200 members of the 228th Tactical Signal Brigade out of Spartanburg. Both units are based at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

The major general says morale is very high in both units, and their performance has been impressive, particularly given the challenges they face in Afghanistan.