Tanned, his hair cropped closely on the sides, and dressed in fatigues, Senator Scott Brown looked every bit the dashing soldier coming home from war when he returned from National Guard duty in Afghanistan a year ago.
His wife, Gail Huff, raced to meet him in a crowded terminal at Logan International Airport. Photographers captured their kiss and long embrace.
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SENATOR Brown is perhaps the most unusual National Guardsman in American history. So why would he not get treatment unique to his circumstance?
What a STUPID non-story this is.
This article is another hatchet job on Senator Scott Brown. How predictable! Scott Brown has served his country in a non-combat capacity for decades. Scott Brown has earned peanuts as part-time Guardsman, and actually did something for other citizen-soldiers. Liz Warren has received hundreds of thousands of dollars per year as a part-time law school instructor after fraudulently checking the Native American box.
Hard to believe that SB's supporters are complaining about this article- this is exactly the kind of self-serving PUBLICITY that he wants! If the article isn't objective enough for these... commenters... that says more about them than anything else.
This piece provides NO INFORMATION about Scott Brown's performance in the office he seeks re-election to. NONE. How are voters supposed to make informed choices about crucial issues such as whether or not Mr. Brown's voting record actually IS bipartisan (it is not), whether or not he actually DOES support the rights of women (he does not), whether he actually DOES vote to help our unemployed (he does not), whether he actually DOES strive to help families handle college expenses (he does not), or whether his actions benefit Wall Street or the middle class (Wall Street every time) if major outlets like Boston Globe WON'T WRITE ABOUT THE ISSUES? Is it too hard for the journalists at the Globe to actually RESEARCH and REPORT what is really happening? I suspect, instead, that the Globe knows that if the race was focused on issues it would be a runaway for Elizabeth Warren, and runaways depress advertising revenues.
This article does provide information about someone who engineers promotions and service based on "pull". He beat out other serving, deserving members of the National Guard because he was a Republican politician. He claims to have "served" when he spent a week in the rear with the gear. Ask members of the Guard who have spent a year and more in country and not well protected. Ask their families. And does it best serve the Country or the Guard overall to have a member of the Guard also overseeing the Guard? Would you want an active banker overseeing banks? He's getting benefits no other service member would get, because of his dual positions. Isn't that a conflict of interest?
Of course the article addresses Brown's performance as a Senator -- how he has unsurprisingly used his position to his advantage. Also, how he has managed to use his image as a "soldier" to deflect focus on the real issues in the race.
Brown was recommended for a medal for giving a speech!!!
A hatchet job on a soldier who has served us and his fellow soldiers for over 30 years. The Boston Globe has no shame. I will be discussing with my wife, again, canceling the Boston Globe. I'm tired of reading this garbage. I'm tired of the Globe always working against the people of this state.
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Mr. Johnson is both back to his role as chief Glob political propagandist for the Demomob, and showing his total ignorance of military martters. Consider this quote certainly typed by Johnson:
"In the past two years, the senator has also won a much-coveted promotion to colonel, one notch below general."
In fact, Mr. Johnson, a colonel is one notch below BRIGADIER GENERAL, a one-star rank. What you call a general refers to the usual highest rank in the U.S. military, a four star general or admiral. A small, niggardly point, Mr. Johnson, but for a guy who tries to portray himself as an arbiter of matters political, you really must be more careful.
As for your wheedling about a Massachusetts-based senator serving in the Maryland national guard, that has a resemblance to many issues in which Massachusetts elected senators have had residences, boat registrations and other personal associations with other states. Like Teddy Kennedy living in Virginia, and John Kerry registerring his boat in Rhode Island . . . and other senators from other states moving to states they thought they could count on for election, say Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, and Bobby Kennedy living most of the time in Virginia.
Did Scott Brown have a political connection that got him assigned to the Maryland guard under the command of that state's governor? And is he occupying a Maryland guard desk not authorized by a manning document? Answer this, Mr. Johnson, would U.S. Senator/Colonel Brown be of much use to the Massachusetts National Guard's judge advocate staff if he is doing his primary duty and spending most of his time serving in the U.S. Senate, in Washington, D.C. during some sort of outbreak that causes the Massachusetts national guard to be called up to duty? And, conversely, would be Sen. Brown be able to do his duty to the Massachusetts electorate if the Massachusetts national guard is nationalized and sent somewhere like the Mexican border or to Afghanistan? Would he not be required to assume the uniform as his first priority?
And face this, Mr. Johnson, Sen. Brown may have been in theater at Afghanistan for only a week, but is he the only non-combat national guard officer who has served such an, agreed, short term of duty in a combat zone even if he was not in the front lines with the Special Forces? John Kerry, the one time U.S. Navy hero who turned against the military during wartime, certainly has not been out there in Afghanistan in uniform. And more certainly, Harvard Law's bankruptcy Professor Lizzy Warren has been no where near the military, though she tries to seek a link via her brothers who apparently did serve in uniform, likely at least one in combat. But not Lizzy, in this day of women assuming more and stronger roles in the military, someone like a Globe reporter writing such a snarky attack on a serving U.S. National Guard officer while that Globe reporter's favorite candidate has been as far away from the U.S. military as she can get belittle's the Globe and its reporter rather than the U.S. Senator that reporter seeks to belittle.
Instead of using right wing blog speak, why don't you discuss real facts. If you don't think the globe is factual, show these facts you believe and their source.
If you use common ideas of evidence and reasoning you will not support Senator Brown or his corrupt party but you at least will not be playing the fool.
Brown has played the National Guard like a fiddle. He has orchestrated each move for political purposes. He orchestrated the photographers and TV camera men to be at Logan for the emotional return home after a grueling 2 weeks of schmoozing at the rear with gear in Kabul. Every move has been calculated from leaving his home state Guards to Maryland where he could be close to the military leadership to garner further favors and promotions (and return same via Senate votes). He now is trying to hide his letter of support for the Framingham pharmaceutical mixing firm where he tried to prevent stronger gov't regulations for this type of company. This is the company being investigated with causing meningitis through its syringes. The company CEO is a campaign contributor of Brown. He calls out Elizabeth Warren for "not being who she says she is". He is guilty of same. It seems that the Republicans are always projecting their own weakness unto their opposition. Like Romney - who is the real Scott Brown?
The pharmaceutical company issue could really be an "October surprise" for Scott. The media should pull out all the stops to look into Brown's connections with this company, and the favors he's done for it.
We allowed our last President to manufacture a myth about his service when, in all likelihood, he was a deserter. We now allow Senator Brown to parade around Afghanistan as a high ranking Colonel from the state of Maryland where he has never served wearing combat gear and then talk about his service in Afghanistan to score points as a politician. I am guilty of "Stolen Valor' if I sit around a barroom or walk in a parade telling people think my service was something it was not. This is worse because elaborate security would have been in place for a US Senator/Colonel in a war zone. In other words, young soldiers who were in danger would have been surrounding the gilded rooms of our combat clothed Senator Brown. This is no small matter. Pretenders of valor who are famous cause young men to die protecting them. To equate a dispute about heritage to a Senator who manufactures a heroic resume is a question of values. All service is not equal as some would have us believe. This is the service of a play soldier.
Check this out: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/02/1101817/-Did-Scott-Brown-Deserve-an-Army-Commendation-Medal-for-a-Speech-and-a-Photo-Op
Check this out: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/02/1101817/-Did-Scott-Brown-Deserve-an-Army-Commendation-Medal-for-a-Speech-and-a-Photo-Op
So, if Scott is NOT re-elected, will he switch back to the Massachusetts NG and leave his Pentagon plum assignment? He certainly has developed a sweet deal for himself. And, of course, {nudge, nudge, wink, wink} there's no conflict of interest between these two positions, especially in his capacity as a key Senator overseeing funding for his own position, among others. Ah, well, he certainly wouldn't be the first political candidate to wrap himself in the flag.
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So the Globe takes a swipe at Senator Scott Brown and the National Guard. Wow a two-fer!
You're very welcome Professor Warren.
And thank for your 32 years of Guard service LTC Brown.
The globe took a swipe at Brown's mockery of real service. He did nothing during his 14 days ... absolutely nothing. He could have gone to Afghanistan on a Congressional mission, using Congressional money and instead he made a mockery of the Guard and all those men and women who gave up their state side jobs to serve. They don't get to see their wife after two weeks.
http://www.navycs.com/2012-military-pay-chart.html#reserve-guard-paycharts
The military pay scale for an National Guard Colonel which is capped at thirty years’ time in service. $1,602.80. The 2012 Officer Drill Pay chart shows the monthly drill pay, based upon the normal requirements of one weekend of drill duty per month. When a ,member of the guard or reserve performs his/her active duty as an 0-6 (Colonel )and you did the minimum amount of time to get a good year which is 12 days your base pay would be in the neighborhood of 4,2224.00. If you spend a single qualifying day in the combat zone, your pay for the entire month is excluded from taxable income, and you receive $225 in combat pay for that month. “He is now paid a salary of $22,171 annually. That is based on $16,892 for weekend duty and $5,279 for summer duty. I question Mr. Johnson’s math.
Pay Grade
Years of Service
Over 30
Over 34
Over 38
Over 40
O-10
17451
18323
19240
Time for
O-9
15398
16168
16976
Retirement!
O-8
13619
13959
13959
Retire!!
O-7
12021
12021
12021
Retire!!
O-6
10557
10557
10557
Retire!!
No amount of pay is worth risking your life in a mortar attack. Soldiers and sailors in war zones today as was done past wars do it because it is there duty and not for the money. )
Scott Brown has made a mockery of all those who really went to Afghanistan for a full tour and above all those who put their lives in danger and lost their lives.
He wasted the tax payers money to promote himself.
Wow. This article shows that so much of what Brown says and does is fraudulent.
His so-called "service" is mostly service to his own ambitions.
solution....don't vote for him and let him work for the Guard. Much more experience there than the two years under mcconnell's "guidance" in the Senate. It's a two-fer......we get Elizabeth who would do a much better job and the boy senator (hopefully) makes the Guard better.