It wasn't going to be an easy thing before she arrived. Now that she's here, it's even harder for him.
"Joe" is part of Orangeburg's 218th Brigade Company B/163rd Battalion. Joe and the rest of Company B are being sent to Afghanistan.
They're part of Task Force Phoenix, which is scheduled to be active for a year and a half.
Joe was asked if his mission is front line in harm's way or if it was a secondary, supporting role. But Joe stuck to his superior's instructions.
"I can't really say," was his answer.
Just so you know, Joe isn't his real name.
For safety reasons, the military won't allow Joe to use his real name.
Since he couldn't use his real name, he was given the name Joe after the action figure G.I. Joe.
But unlike the doll, which can be placed back in a box when things get tough, our Joe can't. He'll be in Mississippi today, training for his mission. He'll be there two months.
He's a likeable fellow, a son, a brother -- the youngest of seven children, and the only one in his family to serve in the military.
Today, however, Joe is first and foremost a soldier.
But during a send-off celebration on Thursday, Joe, for a few more minutes, was a father, a father holding his newly-born daughter.
You see, Joe and his girlfriend "Amanda," a name she asked to be called, again following military orders, just had their first child.
Their gift of love arrived just a few days ago. In fact, she was an early arrival. "Love," as we'll call her, was due to arrive much later.
"We had to have her labor-induced so he could spend time with her," Amanda said.
Inducing labor for Love didn't upset Joe's mom since grandmother and granddaughter now share the same birthday, grandmother adding she's had it for "fifty something" more years than Love.
But while her grandchild is here, she's still got mixed feelings. One baby has arrived bringing with her all the hopes and dreams of a newborn. But her own is leaving.
"I'm sort of nervous about it, this is my baby," Joe's mom said. "I know I'll be praying for him the whole time."
Joe's been in the military for years. He's gone on training, leaving his family behind. But he's never been actively deployed nor separated from his family for this length of time.
It's going to be difficult. This time, there is no training, no rehearsal, no make believe as with G.I. Joe. This time, Joe steps into harm's way.
"I know he'll get home safe," his mom said. "And I wish that for everybody."
At Thursday's farewell activities, there were hugs. There were handshakes. And there were tears -- tears of goodbye, tears of uncertainty.
"We wish them well and just hope they get home safe," Joe's dad said. "Our comfort is that we'll be praying for them to get back to us soon."
Amanda says she'll be taking a lot of pictures, sending lots of letters so Joe can watch his little Love grow while he's away.
All of Joe's family -- Amanda, Mom and Dad -- are looking forward to that reunion 18 months from now.
"Ooh, beautiful," his dad said, describing the moment Joe returns. "And I hope nobody has to go back. Not just him, but everybody."
When it's all said and done, the mission is complete, Joe looks forward to returning home to enjoy that beautiful time his dad describes.
And while he's anxious to return to his family, he especially looks forward to once again seeing his Love.
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.