The law enforcement arm of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has for years trained, equipped and fielded special operations units in support of its primary law enforcement mission and in support of extra-agency operations across South Carolina from the mountains in the Upstate through the Midlands and into the coastal regions and the Lowcountry.
“Our special operations capabilities are second to none and wholly unique in terms of our statewide mission, what we bring to the table in terms of law enforcement and our ability to provide extra-missional specialized tactical support to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies,” said Dr. Tom Mullikin, director of SCDNR and himself the ranking game warden, having completed Class I law enforcement officer certification in September 2025. “We pride ourselves on being the best in every facet of preserving and protecting our state’s natural resources and our citizens, and nowhere is that more evident than in our approach to law enforcement special operations.”
Organized into four elements, SCDNR LE’s special operations units include Swiftwater Rescue, the ATV (all-terrain vehicle) Response Unit (ARU), K-9s and the Mission Support Unit (MSU).
Swiftwater rescue
Swiftwater rescue officers are trained and equipped with rafts, personal flotation devices, ropes and other gear to rescue people caught in flooding or other fast-moving bodies of water.
“We have to have these capabilities, if for no other reason than we are a flood-prone state,” said Lt. Brady Branham, who directs SCDNR LE’s special operations. “We have a lot of rivers, many of them rapids, and we operate along a 187-mile coastline.”
Branham adds: “We are also an assisting agency, so we can come to the aid of smaller agencies that may not have the capabilities we have. Our swiftwater rescue team was specifically created to address the Duke Energy recreation whitewater rapids in the Great Falls area of South Carolina. Obviously, this is beneficial for our entire state.”
ATV Response Unit
The ATV Response Unit includes 30 specially trained SCDNR game wardens operating all-terrain vehicles both for SCDNR missions and in support of other law enforcement agency missions around the state.
K-9 unit
SCDNR’s K-9 Unit fields nine teams of dogs and handlers capable of tracking, trailing, searching for missing persons, searching for articles and evidence recovery.
“We do a really good job of that,” said Branham. “SCDNR K-9s are also capable of wildlife detection.”
Wildlife detection means seeking out illegally harvested game animals.
SCDNR K-9s also assist other agencies when requested in the pursuit of fugitives and armed-and-dangerous suspects.
Mission Support Unit
SCDNR also fields its Mission Support Unit. “The MSU is a group of highly skilled officers,” said First Sergeant Jeremy T. Cooper. “They are trained and held to a very high standard.”
MSU game wardens must first undergo an intense seven-day period of training involving insertion in one-man kayaks at a river launch point in the remote S.C. Upstate, followed by paddling, hiking and land navigation — using map and compass, grid coordinates and terrain features — all covering approximately 25 miles until completion. “This is an intense training evolution preparing our officers for any-and-all eventualities,” said Branham.
VIP security and weapons
MSU officers also perform VIP security, providing game wardens for plain-clothes executive protection details, which SCDNR has done for years before the establishment of the MSU. “We provide this protection along travel routes, also at airports,” said Branham. “And of course we have a maritime capability and responsibility that falls under VIP security.”
SCDNR’s special operations game wardens are armed with Glock .45s as well as 5.56-caliber AR-platform rifles.
SCDNR special operations units are all relatively new. The K-9 Unit has been operational for nine years; Swiftwater Rescue has been fully operational for three years; ARU for two years; and the MSU for one and a half years.
SCDNR also maintains a fleet of drones and conventional aircraft that support special operations, though they are organized separately.
For more information about SCDNR, visit https://www.dnr.sc.gov/.
