People in uniform

NAVY ENSIGN ANTHONY U. ROBINSON was recently commissioned through the Limited Duty Officer/Chief Warrant Officer (LDO/CWO) Program while assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 131, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va.

Robinson served 17 years on enlisted active duty and attained the rank of chief petty officer. He was previously assigned to Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 106 and 131 aboard USS Nimtiz (CVN 68), Norfolk, Va.

Robinson's next duty station will be aboard USS Carl Vinson, Naval Station Norfolk, as the flight deck officer.

The LDO/CWO Program was established in 1948 and allows newly commissioned officers to retain their specialties acquired during their service in the enlisted and warrant officer ranks. These officers are technically oriented individuals who perform duties limited to specific occupational fields.

Robinson, a 1990 graduate of Furman High School, joined the Navy in November 1992.



AIR NATIONAL GUARD AIRMAN 1ST CLASS SAMUEL l. HARDIN has graduated from the F-16 Aircraft Avionics Systems Apprentice Course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas.

The course is designed to train students to operate, check, remove, install, and maintain avionics systems using aircraft controls and displays to determine operational condition; interpret equipment operating characteristics to isolate malfunctions in systems such as attack control, radar, infrared laser, instruments, displays, flight controls, communication, navigation, identification, and defensive and offensive electronic warfare systems; uploads operational software into system components and enters maintenance data into automated and integrated systems; and performs operational checks of externally mounted electronic countermeasures equipment.

Hardin is the son of Samuel L. and Peggy J. Hardin of Wedgefield.

His wife, Lisa, is the daughter of Norman W. and Florence L. Franklin of Dalzell.



ARMY RESERVE SPEC. VENUS N. DUFF has been mobilized and activated for deployment overseas to a forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Operation Iraqi Freedom is the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces participating in efforts to free and secure Iraq. Mission objectives focus on force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency operations as the Iraqi transitional governing bodies assume full sovereign powers to govern the peoples of Iraq.

Members from all branches of the U.S. military and multinational forces are also assisting in rebuilding Iraq's economic and governmental infrastructure, and training and preparing Iraqi military and security forces to assume full authority and responsibility in defending and preserving Iraq's sovereignty and independence as a democracy.

The specialist, a heavy motor transportation operator with four years of military service, is regularly assigned to the 498th Transportation Company, based in Mobile, Ala.

Duff, mother of Jamez Jeimarcus S. Jackson of Sumter, is a 2001 graduate of Lakewood High School.



CIVILIAN MICHAEL F. FUNK recently enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps under the Delayed Entry Program with Marine Corps Recruiting Station, Columbia.

The program allows recruits to enter the Marine Corps and take up to one year to complete prior commitments such as high school. Using recruiter as mentors, this program helps recruits ease into the transition from civilian to military life.

Funk, son of Michael E. Funk of Summerton and Susan E. Bloom of St. Stephen, is a 2007 graduate of Timberland High School, St. Stephen.