Congratulations, Lt Col. Allen West, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas
I just want to say how truly humbled I am by this honor, and that I will work hard for Texas and Texans.
I would like to thank my amazing and dedicated team, as well as an incredible number of supporters.
Your messages, texts, emails, and in-person encouragement at events has meant so very much.
Thank you all!
Allen West was born on February 7, 1961, in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, to Herman and Elizabeth West, and grew up in Atlanta’s inner city. West grew up in a culture of military service — his father and older brother served in combat in World War II and Vietnam, respectively. West’s mother worked as a civilian employee for the Marine Corps. He joined the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (J-ROTC) in 10th grade before graduating from Henry W. Grady High School in Atlanta.2 West joined the Reserve Offices’ Training Corps (ROTC) while attending the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1983. West then began United States Army officer training and earned two master’s degrees, a political science degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, and a military arts degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.3 In 1989, he married Angela M. Graham, a financial planner, with whom he had two daughters.
Military Career from State.Gov
After joining the Army, West served in Italy, South Korea, and the Middle East—including service in the Gulf War in 1991. West returned to Kansas State University to serve as an ROTC instructor until 1994. After spending much of the next decade at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, West was deployed to Iraq in 2003. During his more than 20 years of service, he was awarded the Bronze Star and three Meritorious Service Medals. He retired from the army in 2004, at the rank of lieutenant colonel.4 West worked as a high school teacher and coach for a year before taking a position advising the Afghan military in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Having attracted significant attention from national Republicans through his military service, he returned to Florida in 2008, to seek political office for the first time.5
As an example of his effort to reach out to divergent groups within Washington, he joined both the Tea Party Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).9 “I think you need to have competing voices in that body,” West said of his decision to join the otherwise entirely Democratic CBC.10 West served on the Armed Services and Small Business Committees. Much of his legislative agenda focused on protecting the nation’s armed forces and reforming the tax code. He frequently voted with his fellow Republican freshmen on fiscal policies important to the Tea Party faction of Republicans. West’s spirited speeches and bold conservative rhetoric made him a sensation among conservatives. “I tell the truth and I stand on convictions and you know what you’re getting,” he said of his burgeoning national reputation.11
Colonel West is the first to admit that Army procedures were not his priority if it was a matter of saving his troops.
“Intent on foiling a reported plot to ambush him and his men, Colonel West, a battalion commander, made a calculated decision to intimidate the Iraqi officer with a show of force. An interrogation under way was going nowhere, Colonel West said in an interview to NYT
“”This could get ugly,” he told his soldiers. But, he said, he imposed limits: ”This man will not be injured and he will not have to be repaired. There will be no blood and no breakage of bones,
But that is not the message he gave to Iraqi policeman, Yehiya Kadoori Hamoodi, who West believed had critical information of a timely nature. He fired a shot next to the policeman’s head.
”The fact is, I made a choice, the choice had consequences and I accept that,” he continued.
But, he added, the events of that hot, dusty night still disturb him: ”I’m not some bully who goes around threatening men’s lives. Certain things we have to do in war are outside our character.”
The Army wanting to send a message that abuse ws not acceptable, dismissed him. Short of going for a Court Martial, he was fined 5K for assault.
2nd Amendment
Allen West is on the Board of Directors of the NRA and an avid 2nd Amendment.
“Now the work begins,” Col West Stated.