First female South Carolina artillery commander to train
Second Lt. Tracci Dorgan, 36, is training to become the South Carolina National Guard’s first female combat field artillery commander, the Associated Press reported.
The move comes almost a year after the U.S. Army first began allowing female officers to command artillery units and after the Pentagon announced it would be opening more combat positions to women.
Dorgan will now, after completing training for five months at Fort Sill Oklahoma, command units of
U.S. Army 32-ton Paladin Howitzers, designed as next generation self-propelled artillery cannons that “fire precision rounds, accommodate additional armor protections and power more on-board electrical systems,” according to the official homepage of the U.S. Army.
Dorgan to complete additional study in mathematics in addition to the standard Army officer training for the position.
She previously studied at the Palmetto Military Academy for a yearlong program, known for its nearly 40 percent dropout rate.
Dispute over cigarettes leads to stabbing
A dispute over the location of a pack of cigarettes led to a stabbing late Friday night, the Associated Press reported.
Beaufort Police charged 45-year-old Mary Jenkins, with stabbing her boyfriend after a domestic dispute involving a pack of cigarettes.
The dispute, according to Beaufort Police, started in the couple’s bedroom at around 11:35 p.m. Friday. At some point, authorities said, the situation escalated to the point where Jenkins allegedly left the room and grabbed a knife from the kitchen, which she used to stab her boyfriend in the leg twice.
The full cause of the dispute is unknown, but police said witness reports indicate that it occurred over the location of a pack of cigarettes.
Jenkins was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and the man was taken to the hospital.
The brand of cigarettes involved is not known.
Lexington woman charged after setting fire to home
A Lexington County mother of two was arrested and charged with third degree arson after setting fire to her own home, The State reports.
Christine Louise Roberts, 43, set fire to her house at around 11 p.m. Saturday night, according to Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty.
According to the arrest warrant, multiple witnesses identified Roberts as the person who set fire to the home. Lexington County firefighters found Roberts lying prone at the back of the house, with a container of gasoline nearby. Roberts’ husband had left the house after a dispute, and the two children, ages 12 and 13, weren’t in the house when it was set on fire.
No one was injured.
The details, circumstances and causes of the verbal dispute were unknown. The investigation is ongoing.