Nikki Haley blows kiss to husband at his National Guard deployment ceremony
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took a day off the campaign trail to participate in a personal experience familiar to many Americans.
Haley was in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday, not for retail politics in the early-voting state she also calls home, but to see her husband, Maj. Michael Haley, off for a year-long deployment starting this week to Djibouti in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Horn of Africa.
MORE: Nikki Haley's husband will be deployed to Africa for much of 2024 campaign
Members of the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade participated in a formal deployment ceremony at noon at The Citadel at the Military College of South Carolina, where Nikki Haley was among many military spouses in attendance to send off their loved ones. Michael Haley is one of approximately 200 soldiers in the South Carolina National Guard set to deploy.
As she took the stands for the ceremony, Haley blew a kiss to her husband, who was standing front row in formation with his unit.
Joined by her young adult children, Nalin and Rena, as well as Rena's husband, Joshua Jackson, Haley got a special shoutout in the program as the state's former governor. As she was walking down the bleachers to the field after the short ceremony, several people stopped Haley to chat and take photos before she walked down to the field to embrace her husband.
"It's so many mixed emotions. There's so much pride," she told reporters after the ceremony. "As a wife, a military spouse, this is when we start the year long prayer of making sure they go there, they do their job effectively, they do it in a way that's strong, and that they come home safely."
"I am just one of many military spouses that are watching their loved ones leave today, and we feel an amazing sense of pride. We feel an amazing sense of service. And we may feel an amazing sense of sadness. But at the same time, we could not be happier to see them going and doing what they in their blood are meant to do. And so we're proud," she added later on.
The South Carolina National Guard called on officers earlier this year with Michael Haley's skill set to support the United States Africa Command or AFRICOM, and he answered the call, according to a person familiar with the deployment.
Nikki Haley's campaign says this is the first time a presidential candidate has had a spouse deployed during the campaign.
"Our family, like every military family, is ready to make personal sacrifices when our loved one answers the call. We could not be prouder of Michael and his military brothers and sisters," she said in a statement last month. "Their commitment to protecting our freedom is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in America."
The deployment marks Michael Haley's second active-duty tour overseas since he joined the National Guard as an officer in 2006. He served in Afghanistan's Helmand Province as part of an agribusiness team in 2013, when his wife was governor of South Carolina.
"This deployment is the reason I joined the National Guard," he said in a statement to The Associated Press at that time. "The only thing that gives me pause is the yearlong deployment away from family. But in the end, I can't help but to think giving one year along with my fellow soldiers, as many have done before me, to secure a life of freedom for my family is well worth all that comes with it."
She often jokes about being a "single mom governor" on the campaign trail.
"He deployed while I was governor, so he left me as a single mom governor," she said earlier this year in Iowa. "And yes, we're still married."
MORE: Nikki Haley slams foreign lobbyists while accepting funds from them
Nikki Haley's husband has been an integral part of her campaign since she launched her presidential campaign in February, becoming the first major Republican to challenge former President Donald Trump. On the stump, she frequently criticizes President Joe Biden's abilities as commander-in-chief, often condemning how the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, and shares her status as a military wife, saying she understands the call to serve.
"Last time this was tough this time it seems to be just as tough, but at the same time, for them, our job is to say all is good on the home front so that they can stay safe where they're at," Nikki Haley told reporters on Saturday.
"We have both lived a life of service. And so when he goes off to deploy my support is completely with him. If I happen to be running for president his support is completely with me, two things can be true at the same time. And so, we will continue to stay in touch as best as we can," she added.
The couple, married for 26 years, met in college and have two adult children, Nalin and Rena.
During the last presidential election cycle, then-Democratic candidate for president Tulsi Gabbard left the campaign trail for two weeks in 2019 to report for a joint training exercise in Indonesia with the Army National Guard.
MORE: Nikki Haley officially launches her presidential bid: 'We're ready'
Michael Haley was the first first gentleman of South Carolina and has kept the acronym "fgosc" as his Instagram handle.
ABC News' Abby Cruz and Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.
Nikki Haley blows kiss to husband at his National Guard deployment ceremony originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
