Politics & Government

SC Guardsmen Deploy to Kosovo

Just weeks after the death of three S.C. guardsmen in Afghanistan, about 500 S.C. guardsmen are being deployed to Kosovo.

About 40 military policemen from the 132nd Military Police Company based in West Columbia will spend a year in Kosovo on a peacekeeping mission, according to news reports. 

The 132nd was one of four S.C. National Guard units that sent off soldiers to Kosovo Sunday, according to a report in The State. About 500 South Carolina soldiers were deployed.

Many of the guardsmen heading to Kosovo knew the three guardsmen who died in Afghanistan on June 20, according to the report. , and all died after a suicide bomber attacked their patrol in Khost Province.

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Sgt. Mark Olinski, who is headed to Kosovo, said it was difficult to learn about the death of fellow guardsman Rawl.

“Any place where I go to could turn into something bad," Olinski told The State. "I just try to keep my mind on my Ps and Qs. That’s what I do since I am a cop.”

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The soldiers, who volunteered for the mission, have been training for a year on how handle tension between Albanians and Serbians in Kosovo, according to the report.


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