As a dark cloud of war looms over the United Sates and our troops prepare to fight, South Carolina's newly elected governor says he'll stand beside them.

Today, in a major announcement in Columbia, Governor Mark Sanford says he will honor his Reserve commitment he made January 30, 2002.

Sanford is commissioned as a first lieutenant and a health administrator with the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron based at the Charleston Air Force Base.

The Governor has been under fire recently for saying he hoped to avoid possible deployment because his first obligation is to the state. But, in a letter to Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer, Sanford wrote, "The bottom line 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.

If Sanford is deployed, the role of Governor will be temporarily transferred to Bauer. The next people in line are Speaker of the House, David Wilkins and Senator Glenn McConnell.