The South Carolina Naval Militia (SCNM) is the

naval militia A naval militia or maritime militia is a volunteer organization comprising civilian sailors who train periodically to support naval operations during emergencies or times of war. List of naval militias * Naval militias in the United States * B ...

of the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The SCNM is a naval unit organized at state level and primarily composed of Navy and Marine Corps reservists who serve simultaneously as federal and state level reservists. The SCNM can be deployed by the

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

to assist in emergency response or in homeland security operations.

History

Prior to the creation of the federal military reserves, the United States maintained a small professional military which was augmented by state militias in times of war. The South Carolina Naval Militia saw service in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

when SCNM sailors manned artillery batteries in

Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...

and served aboard multiple ships, including , , and . With the creation of the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

was reorganized to draw reserves from a federal reserve force rather than state militias, leading to many states disbanding their naval militias. Prior to the reestablishment of the SCNM, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

commander in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

maintained a unit of volunteers organized as a para-naval militia called the Volunteer Port Security Force, which consisted of 40-50 nonmilitary boats and their owners who agreed to report suspicious behavior to the Coast Guard. In 2003, the

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and ...

passed the South Carolina Maritime Security Act which officially reestablished the South Carolina Naval Militia and requires the Maritime Security Commission, a committee created by the act, to actively maintain and facilitate the activities of the naval militia in order to further homeland security operations.

Legal status

Naval militias of individual U.S. states are recognized by the federal government of the United States under 10 U.S. Code §246. The South Carolina Maritime Security Act reestablished the South Carolina Naval Militia as a component of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division effective 21 July 2003.

Membership

As a federally recognized naval militia, the SCNM must set membership requirements according to federal standards in order to be granted access to federal equipment. Under 10 U.S. Code § 8904, in order to be eligible to use vessels, material, armament, equipment, and other facilities available to the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

and the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

, at least 95% of members of the naval militia must also be members of the

or the

. South Carolina law also commissions a Merchant Marine division within the SCNM composed of Coast Guard-licensed or certificated merchant mariners who maintain active membership in the Volunteer Port Security Force as well as other licensed merchant mariners.

References

External links

Roster of the South Carolina Naval Militia in the Spanish–American War
{{State Defense Forces State defense forces of the United States Military in South Carolina

History

Legal status

Membership

See also

References

External links