[SandRat]

National Guard, ever vigilant, ever ready.

[Calpernia]

Most local headlines in Charleston, S.C., probably won’t grab national attention: a road is closed for construction, local officials debate a proposed law, a man is shot in a small town outside Charleston.

But how about this for a headline: “Run for Your Lives: Charleston will blow up this week.” A military training exercise, Sudden Response 2005, is using Charleston as the setting of a nuclear disaster to improve the United States’ readiness if such an event should occur.