S.C. Adjutant General Stanhope Spears warned state Senate budget writers last week that deep cuts to the department would force the closure of some facilities and that such action would put the state at risk as hurricane season approaches.
He said between the proposed cuts and the loss of matching federal funds, the Guard could lose more than $2 million.
LT. Col. Peter Brooks, a spokesperson for the Guard, said such a deep cut would leave them no choice but to close armories.
“That would have a severe negative effect,” Brooks said, pointing out there is no list of potential armories to be closed and that any of them could be at risk, including the Easley and Clemson armories.
Brooks said armory closures would degrade response times during natural disasters, as well as hurt training and recruiting efforts.
And for those serving in the National Guard, closures would mean having to travel greater distances to report for drills, he said.
Whether or not facilities are closed will depend on what the legislature does, said.
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