COLUMBIA, SC (SCDVA) - Military leaders from installations around the Palmetto State gathered at the Pastides Alumni Center on October 6, 2022 to update Governor McMaster, SCDVA Secretary Will Grimsley, South Carolina Military Base Task Force Chairman, Dan Beatty, and numerous cabinet agency heads on the current state of affairs at bases in South Carolina and Fort Gordon, Georgia. 

Leaders from state military installations included: 

• Brigadier General Walker Field – Parris Island;
• Colonel Karl Arbogast – MCAS Beaufort;
• Captain Chad Roe – Beaufort Naval Hospital;
• Colonel Mike Freeman – Joint Base Charleston;
• Captain John Cole – Coast Guard;
• Colonel Kris Smith – Shaw Air Force Base;
• Brigadier General Jason Kelly – Fort Jackson;
• Colonel Dave Thomas – Fort Gordon; and
• Major General Van McCarty – National Guard.

The discussion led to the following priorities for SCDVA:

• The announcement of grant awards for the Base Protection Fund;
• Coordination of meetings between MCAS Beaufort and SC State Housing and Financing Authority regarding affordable housing;
• Confirmation of DHEC's acceptance of military shot records for school immunizations requirements;
• Confirmation of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles' (SCDMV) acceptance of some solution to bypass 180-day wait for new drivers licenses for service members;
• Confirmation of the receipt of OPI' number by LL for Physical Therapy Compact licenses;
• Establishment of a working group to examine the affects of scheduled DHA changes to the military medical system on the civilian healthcare network;
• Confirmation of South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) addressing Joint Base Charleston's concerns about traffic on Redbank and Dorchester Roads;
• Enablement of an open enrollment memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Joint Base Charleston and the Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester school districts;
• Confirmation of the addition of maritime fire-fighting training to Fire Academy curriculum;
• Enablement of a discussion between Fort Gordon and South Carolina Department of Education (SCDOE) regarding the I-20 Corridor Cyber Education Initiative; and
• Confirmation that SCDOT has adequate plans and dedicated funds to complete the SC portion of the I-20 Connector Project for Fort Gordon.