There wasn’t much fanfare when Mark Sanford, 41, enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in January 2002. He didn’t publicize the move at all. Instead, when the press learned two months later of his enrollment in America’s fighting forces, Sanford argued against the story’s publication. It was a personal, not public, matter; to this he attributed the decision’s quiet nature.

Of course, Sanford had already announced his bid for governor, causing his opponents to accuse him of political opportunism and covering his tracks.

Sanford became a member of the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, a reserve unit based in Charleston. The ex-congressman invoked noblesse oblige — from those to whom much is given, much is expected — among his reasons to join. The elite should not avoid military service, Sanford said, because if so “the kid in McCormick County with few financial or educational options” becomes “the guy that gets sent off to Vietnam or to North Korea to whatever the next hot spot is around the globe.”

Elected governor, Sanford refused to let his influential civilian status go to his head. “As to any orders I receive,” Sanford wrote in an open letter to the lieutenant governor, “I will do just as anyone else in my unit and follow them.” Sanford said that his military duty outweighed his obligation to public office. He said he was keeping a promise and setting an example for his kids. He made us proud as South Carolinians.

As you may have noticed, Sanford hasn’t been called to active duty. And this isn’t because the 315th is a last-resort unit. To the contrary, from the outset of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars through October 2004, roughly 75 mobilizations occurred in the 118-member squadron. Since then, 35 more reservists were activated. Against such odds, how has the governor managed to do what even Elvis couldn’t — to elude those orders that he is so enthusiastically willing to carry out? There are two reasons: training and transferring.

First, the issue of training. He has surprisingly little for someone so far along in his service. Sanford completed the two-week training course required of directly commissioned officers in April 2003 (yes, 14 months after joining) and, though promoted to captain in 2004, hadn’t completed the requisite training for his Air Force job as of January 2005 (three years after joining).

The Air Force initially reported that Sanford’s class obligations must be completed within a year of his enlistment. Officials eventually conceded that the Reserve was a more “fluid” organization than first implied. This explains why Sanford wasn’t on the list of 15 reservists from the 315th called to active duty in February 2003, or the list of 45 reservists activated in March 2003, or any other list anywhere that was comprised of fully trained military professionals. The last thing a military at war needs is another mouth to feed, especially when that mouth brings no pertinent skills to the fight.

Second, there’s the issue of transferring, specifically to a job that never deploys. In case you missed it, Sanford accepted a transfer in March. “I’ve always said if the military comes calling, I’m going,” Sanford said while adjusting to his new nondeployable position in a homeland disaster preparedness agency. “Having transferred, I would say were they to be deployed, I’d obviously call and see if there was a way I could help out, given that’s a role I’ve been training in for three years.”

Six weeks later, to the surprise of none but perhaps the most naive, 35 more members of the Sanford’s former unit were activated.

To summarize: Mark Sanford joined the Air Force Reserve at 41 while running for governor, rhetoricized about his altruism in the face of potential deployment, sufficiently dragged his feet such that he was never competent to deploy and then, once (presumably) proficient, transferred to a homestead position that is undoubtedly the envy of every poor McCormick kid in a hot spot around the globe.

Is this the caliber of service we can expect from our elite? Serving at their leisure, benefiting only their own political resume, cherry-picking the best, safest jobs in the military and leaving the rest for the little guys? If so, I’d just as well have them retain their civilian status. Evasive maneuvers may be a requisite tool in the Air Force, but Sanford has taken them to an altogether new level.

Mr. Shealy, a Navy officer, resides in Cayce.