(Columbia) Jan. 29, 2003 - While Governor Mark Sanford says he thinks his responsibilities as governor are greater than his duties in the Air Force Reserve, and, if his unit is deployed, he will serve. In a letter Tuesday to Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, Sanford said he will ship out with his Air Force Reserve unit if it is deployed, something he said could happen by June.

State of South Carolina Office of the Governor Mark Sanford, Governor

January 28, 2003 The Honorable Rudolph Andreas Bauer Lieutenant Governor, State of South Carolina Post Office Box 142 Columbia, S.C. 29202 Dear Andre, As President Bush is addressing our country tonight, I felt it was important to write to you and make clear exactly where I stand as it relates to my status with the Air Force Reserves. The bottom line for me is that I made a commitment and I am going to keep it. Therefore, as to any orders I receive I will do just as anyone else in my unit and follow them. I believe simply that this is consistent with who I am as a person. I've always done what I said I would do. I also think it’s about being a dad. I've said from the beginning that I did this because, on a personal level, I wanted to signal to my boys the importance of duty and the fact that there is a real disconnect in our country between the rights and the responsibilities that go with being an American. I also believe this is consistent with the concept of servant leadership. I have a much bigger responsibility now as Governor of South Carolina than I did when I began this process but ultimately the essence of servant leadership is being available not when you think the time is best – but when you are called. In the event my unit is activated, I have full confidence in your abilities along with those of Speaker Wilkins and Senator McConnell. Should that happen, I will work closely with each of you to ensure that the agenda I laid out for our state last week is fulfilled. Take care, Mark Sanford Cc: Sen. Glenn McConnell Speaker David Wilkins

The Republican said Wednesday he will honor his military commitment to show his sons about service and keeping his word, "I have always been a person who simply did what I said I was going to do - not more than that, not less than that. .. Obviously, that gets more complicated in this new setting and this new role, but that's who I am."

Sanford says he and his wife, Jenny, discussed his service before making the decision.

The 42-year-old former Congressman gained his commission as a first lieutenant in the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron stationed at Charleston Air Force Base on January 30th, 2002, amid questions that he had used political influence.

Critics also accused him of using military service for political gain. Sanford said at the time he was not considering a bid for governor and did not think a commitment of one weekend a month would affect the job of governor.

Sanford says he began checking into military service during his third US House term and says he received no special treatment.

Sanford says he would not resign as governor if he were on an extended deployment, and he may seek a court's opinion about whether the state constitution prohibits him from keeping his commission.

In a December State newspaper article the governor said of his Reserve duties, "I said all along it has to fall second to the responsibility the voters of South Carolina placed on me for the next four years."

That generated a flurry of criticism from people who accused Sanford of joining the reserves as a campaign ploy. One critic writing to a newspaper called the commission "resume padding."

If Sanford were called up, Andre Bauer, the 33-year-old lieutenant governor, could become acting governor, "If we should have the situation where the governor is deployed, I stand ready to do what he asks or the citizens of South Carolina ask me to do. ... We're going to continue to do the work Mark set out."

House Minority Leader James Smith says, "This letter ought not to be necessary. It ought to be what's expected, no pat on the back deserved here. It is simply what you do as an American, and what an American serviceman would do."

Sanford's unit has not been notified it will be called up, according to an Air Force Reserve spokesman in Charleston. It's unclear if he would be eligible for deployment.

The governor's office says Sanford has fulfilled weekend training, but has not done the required two weeks of training. He says he wouldn't have to hand over the reigns of the state to the lieutenant governor to go to Alabama complete that training, something he says he may do in March or April.

A recent MRI revealed a torn disc in the governor's back, but he says he will be ready for duty.

By Lisa Goddard
Updated 5:41pm by Chris Rees with AP