(A)(1) The department shall prepare a complete roster of all South Carolina members of the United States military who served on active duty during:
(a) the Korean conflict;
(b) the Vietnam conflict;
(c) Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada);
(d) Operation Just Cause (Panama);
(e) Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Iraq and Kuwait);
(f) Operation Restore Hope (Somalia);
(g) Operations Joint Guard, Joint Forge, and Joint Endeavor (Bosnia-Herzegovina);
(h) Operation Joint Guardian (Kosovo);
(i) Operation Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense); and
(j) Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, Iraq, and Philippines).
(2) This roster shall also include veterans born in South Carolina who served on active duty but may have enlisted in another state. Upon returning to South Carolina, that veteran's name must be added to the roster.
(3) The list must be periodically updated to include persons who serve on active duty or are mobilized in any subsequent named military operation in which United States military personnel are engaged in armed conflict or any future war declared by the United States Congress.
(B) The roster shall contain the principal items of record of all military personnel included on the roster as shown by the service cards or records in the Office of State Selective Service, the Adjutant General, and the Department of Defense of the United States. The roster must be arranged in a manner to make the information readily accessible.
(C) The roster also shall contain an Order of Battle to include the name and location of assignment of every unit of the South Carolina National Guard and every active and reserve unit based in South Carolina participating in any of the conflicts listed in subsection (A). The Order of Battle must be periodically updated in conjunction with the roster.
(D) The department shall secure printing of the roster, and a copy or set must be delivered to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Department Headquarters of the American Legion and Auxiliary, Department Headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Auxiliary, Department Headquarters of the Disabled American Veterans, county libraries, and each county veterans' affairs service officer. Any remaining copies must be placed in the office of the department for distribution as needed.
(E) The preparation and distribution of the roster is subject to the availability of funds as appropriated by the General Assembly to the department for this purpose. These rosters and their distribution must be maintained and updated based on workloads and availability of funds.
(F) The inclusion of a person's name on the roster does not entitle the person to any additional benefits or any benefits for which the person would not otherwise qualify.
HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 96, Section 1; 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt V, Section 7.BB.3, eff July 1, 2015; 2019 Act No. 26 (H.3438), Section 3, eff July 1, 2019.
Editor's Note
2019 Act No. 26, Section 4, provides as follows:
"SECTION 4. (A) All classified or unclassified personnel employed by these offices on the effective date of this act, either by contract or by employment at will, shall become employees of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. The Department of Administration shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state laws and regulations.
"(B) Regulations promulgated by the Division of Veterans' Affairs as it formerly existed under the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the newly created Department of Veterans' Affairs.
"(C) The Code Commissioner is directed to change or correct all references to Division of Veterans' Affairs within the Department of Administration in the 1976 Code, to reflect the transfer of it to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. References to the Division of Veterans' Affairs in the 1976 Code or other provisions of law are considered to be and must be construed to mean appropriate reference to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. This authority shall not be construed to remove any authority from the Department of Administration for approval of statewide policies, procedures, regulations, rates and fees, or specific actions requiring Department of Administration approval."
Effect of Amendment
2014 Act No. 121, Section 7.BB.3, in subsection (E), substituted "Department of Administration, Division of Veterans' Affairs" for "Governor's Office, Division of Veterans Affairs".
2019 Act No. 26, Section 3, in (A), inserted the (1) identifier, substituted "The department" for "The Division of Veterans Affairs", renumbered (1) to (10) as (a) to (j), and inserted the (2) and (3) identifiers; in (D), in the first and second sentences, substituted "department" for "Division of Veterans Affairs", and made nonsubstantive changes; and in (E), in the first sentence, substituted "department" for "Department of Administration, Division of Veterans' Affairs".