After much prayer and discussion with his wife, Jenny, Sanford said keeping the commitment was “who I am.”

A first lieutenant in the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Unit, Sanford does not immediately face deployment for active duty. But the call could come, and if it does, he said, “I’ll go.”

If deployed, Sanford said he would officially turn over power of the state to Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, but if he faced an extended deployment of more than a year, he would not consider resigning as governor.