Augusta Georgia: Metro:Sanford heading to reserve training March 23 03/12/03

Sanford heading to reserve training March 23

Web posted Tuesday, March 11, 2003

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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A camera-shy Gov. Mark Sanford will head to reserve training on March 23, but he won't be handing the reins of his office temporarily to Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

Sanford said he will be in touch with his office regularly and will rely heavily on chief of staff Fred Carter.

Sanford, a first lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve, asked the Air Force not to allow reporters or cameras to follow him as he completes the two weeks of work needed to keep his position in the Reserve.

That attention "wouldn't be fair to the other trainees to have a half-dozen TV cameras hanging over them," Sanford said.

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Reserve Commissioned Officers Training at Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala., takes exactly two weeks and Sanford will get little time off, according to a training guide.

It is one of two courses Sanford is required to complete to be a qualified member of the Air Force Reserve in the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base.

He gained his commission on Jan. 30, 2002, as he campaigned for governor. Sanford responded to critics who branded his commission a political move by saying that he had begun the process of entering the military two years earlier, well before he decided to run for governor.

The course he'll take covers military law, customs, discipline and other aspects of service. He'll also have to take up 11 weeks of training for his job in the unit, but that work can be completed through a correspondence course.

While not as rigorous as the basic military training that enlisted personnel receive, the course does suggest participants arrive in good physical condition, according to the Air Force guide.

Asked if he was ready for a 3-mile run, Sanford smiled and said, "Wouldn't you like to see me collapse at the finish line?"

Members of his staff have a pool running on just how long he'll last at Maxwell. "It's pretty bad when you have your own people betting against you," he said.

--From the Wednesday, March 12, 2003 online edition of the Augusta Chronicle