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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina National Guard leaders are taking part in a drill to help them prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

Guard spokesman Col. Pete Brooks says chief Gen. Robert Livingston is leading Tuesday's exercise at the Guard armory in Columbia.

As head of the South Carolina Military Department, Livingston is commander of the 11,000-member Air and Army National Guards as well as the state's Emergency Management Division.

Brooks says the so-called "table-top" exercise allows commanders to preview the status of the state's Guard units and plan for what they must do prior to the storm season, which starts June 1.

Up to four dozen Guard leaders are participating.

Brooks says several regional meetings are also slated for local Guard units in the coming weeks.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)