News 12 at 6 o'clock; July 31, 2008

BAMBERG and BARNWELL CTY, S.C. -- It's a major safety and economic boost for you; a new government training facility, training soldiers and more; all to protect you and boost the economy. It's quite the international experience, too.

Cindy Messer and her family just made the cross country trip from Idaho to South Carolina. "It's a little humid. But, we'll get used to it," she says.

Now, you might want to get used to more helicopters in the air. Cindy's husband is a trainer with Government Training Institute, or GTI. They’ve set up a training facility to prepare military, law enforcement and more to protect you and our nation.

"I've worked on this project probably everyday since 1991," says President of GTI Chadd Harbaugh. "It's a real passion of mine. I don't want to lose any more officers or soldiers."

The training was put on display for all on Thursday.

Sergeant Steve Balcerzak is a student with one mission. "Save the good guys and prevail. And, take the bad guys," he said.

Thursday's practice worked and now it's down to the final day of training and the first month of students' final exam on Friday. If all goes well, they'll pass and graduate.

SLED's Director Reginald Lloyd hopes the partnership with GTI will go a long way.

"Whether it's national security or fighting crime, we all have to be on the same page," says Director Lloyd.

But, he's going to have to teach the national and international students something other than their typical training.

"We're going to have to get them used to grits," Director Lloyd says.

Brett Stewart is a trainer with GTI, coming all the way from England.

"This will be the place to come to carry out your SWAT training, your advance law enforcement training," says Stewart.

It’s another win for the economy, which GTI has already pumped more than $40,000 into the economy.

"Just imagine how many classes they can get in a year. It's going to be a big benefit for the local area," says Sergeant Balcerzak.

"A definite big win-win for you; you're lucky to have GTI here," says Stewart.

Here, in our own backyard, from all around the world.

The training facility is located in Barnwell County near the Savannah River Site. Their headquarters are at their Bamberg County office in Denmark. They expect to see about 3,000 visits coming to the area every year and pump about $2 million into the economy in capital investments.