WMU English professor deployed

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - It's deployment week for an English professor from Western Michigan University. He's headed to Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Commander John Bush will travel to Afghanistan with the Navy as a public affairs officer.  It's his first deployment.

Monday his church, Saint Margaret's in Otsego, gave him a proper send-off.

He's leaving behind a wife and four kids.

Bush has been a part of the Naval Reserve for about 22 years.

"I've been working for the Navy for a really long time. We're well trained. We knew it was a possibility. It really wasn't a shock. [The] Navy has been good to me for a really long time. This was our chance to give back," said Lt. Comm. John Bush.

Bush heads to Virginia Thursday for about a week before eventually making his way to Kabul, Afghanistan. He hopes to be back by mid-October.