BY TERRY JOYCE
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Gov. Mark Sanford, who joined the Air Force Reserve two years ago, will trade his lieutenant's bars for captain's tracks by month's end, his commanding officer said Friday.
"He attends drills once a month and is doing what we've asked him to do," said Col. Gary Cook, commander of the 315th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base.
Cook told members of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce of Sanford's pending promotion during a visit to the base. Later, he indicated the promotion was routine even though Sanford has not completed all of the training he needs to become a fully qualified medical administration officer in the Air Force Reserve's 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.
The squadron is a subordinate unit to the 315th Wing. Roughly 40 percent of its members have been called to active duty during the past year.
Sanford joined the Air Force Reserve in January 2002 about two months before he filed to run for governor. Last April, he completed two weeks of training at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., for officers who receive direct commissions into the Air Force Reserve.
He said at the time the training had made him "a better CEO and a better governor."
He used a similar argument last month when he defended his reserve status in front of the state Supreme Court.
Sanford's spoke to the court Dec. 3 in a case brought by Edward Sloan Jr., a retired Greenville construction company owner who contends Sanford's status in the Air Force Reserve violates a provision of the state Constitution.
Article 4, Section 2 of the S.C. Constitution reads in part, "No person while Governor shall hold any office or other commission (except in the militia) under the authority of this State, or of any other power."
Sanford has maintained the reserves are a form of militia.
Previously, Sanford said he has been working on a correspondence course designed to train him as a medical administrator. A final portion of the course must be completed at a base in San Antonio.
Reserve spokesman Kenny Pruitt said Sanford's name did not appear on any schedule for training in Texas.
As of late Friday, the Supreme Court has issued no ruling on Sloan's suit.
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