COLUMBIA - As the nation wages war in Iraq and frets over homeland security, newly elected S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford will be absent from the state for two weeks of officer training, where he'll learn military courtesies and how to march in formation.

Beginning this weekend, Sanford, a first lieutenant in the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base who has been in office just over two months, will participate in required training at Maxwell Air Force Base outside Montgomery, Ala.

While he's gone, the state is in the hands of his "management team," which includes Sanford's wife, Jenny, and his chief of staff.

It doesn't include the elected second-in-command, 34-year-old former legislator Andre Bauer, who holds the mostly ceremonial position of lieutenant governor.

Sanford's training session for his Air Force Reserve position has attracted much publicity -- he chatted about it on CNN earlier this month. But spokesman Will Folks said the state's chief executive is treating his time away as if it were any other trip.

"We can be in touch with the governor in a matter of minutes on any matter," Folks said.

He declined to elaborate on how the office would contact Sanford, however. Chief of Staff Fred Carter will continue to run the governor's office as he does when Sanford is home. The governor's office also will forward to Maxwell any bills Sanford needs to sign or veto, Folks said.

With the legislature controlled by Republicans, there is less chance an opponent could take political advantage of the governor's absence.

Sanford's job description with the Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron is medical administration officer. That means he would coordinate medical airlifts aboard the military's huge C-17 transport planes, which could fly battle casualties to hospitals in Germany and the United States.

But his training over the next two weeks will be pretty basic fare. In addition to courses on marching, military customs, courtesies, dress and grooming, he will have to take a fitness test and complete a three-mile run. The governor also will learn leadership and communication skills.

Sanford, a 42-year-old millionaire former congressman who has carefully cultivated his penny-pinching reputation, has asked to be treated like any other trainee, so the media won't be covering his sessions.

While at Maxwell, he'll have to live in a single dormitory room and share a bathroom. Meals will cost about $3, and the room will run him $24.50 a day.

About 15 of 120 reservists from Sanford's unit have been called to active duty, though Sanford isn't among them. One reason is that he hasn't finished the necessary training.

In addition to this two-week session, Sanford needs 11 more weeks of training for his job in the unit, but he can complete that by correspondence course.

Sanford joined up in January of last year as he campaigned for governor. But after he took office, he said he might resign his commission to focus on running the state.

Condemned by veterans and others who said he joined up only for political benefit, Sanford then announced he'd serve with his unit if he's called up. That brought criticism from those who think the governor's first duty is to the state.

Now that he's left for training while the nation is at war, he's open to ridicule again, political observers say -- particularly since South Carolina is home to several facilities that officials say could be targets for terrorist attacks. One is the port in Charleston, one of the busiest container ports on the East Coast.

"There's a kind of domestic front to this war," said Blease Graham, a University of South Carolina political scientist. "If something were to happen that would call for the governor to be present ... and he isn't here, that could be very hurtful."

On the Web

To learn more about Gov. Sanford's training regimen, visit http://ots.afoats.af.mil/ /23ts/index.html