Did you know these politicians served at Fort Bragg?
While Department of Defense policy prohibits service members from engaging in partisan political activities in uniform, some veterans have gone on to work in politics after their military careers ended.
November’s mid-term election added a few more veterans to the list of those serving in political office at the state and national levels.
Here’s a look at those who have served at Fort Bragg.
• A native of Wilson, Rep. G.K. Butterfield is a Democrat representing North Carolina’s 1st congressional district.
According to his biography, Butterfield was drafted into the Army during his junior year at North Carolina Central University and was stationed at Fort Bragg. After being honorably discharged, he returned to NCCU to complete his undergraduate degree, before going on to become a civil rights lawyer, N.C. Supreme Court judge and ultimately being elected to Congress in 2004.
• Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat who represents Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives, entered the Army as an officer in the 82nd Airborne Division and earned the Bronze Star for combat actions when leading a platoon of paratroopers during the invasion of Iraq, according to his biography.
• Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, served as a supply officer and an airborne rifle commander in the 82nd Airborne Division from 1990 to 1992, according to his biography.
From 1993 to 1995, he served as a combat arms assignment officer for the 18th Airborne Corps and later served as a flight surgeon in a Special Operations unit including during the capture of Saddam Hussein when he interrogated Hussein for six hours. Among his military awards are the Bronze Star and the Air Medal with V Device for Valor.
• Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida, served in the Army for 12 years and while in Afghanistan worked as a bomb disposal expert under the Joint Special Operations Command, according to his biography.
The last improvised explosive device that he found resulted in the loss of both of his legs. Among his awards are the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and the Purple Heart.
• Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an infantry platoon leader, a company commander and battalion staff officer, according to his biography.
• Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-New York, is currently a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve. He served four years in the regular Army and deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, with an infantry battalion in 2006 while assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, according to his biography.
• Jarrid “Jay” Collins, Republican senator-elect for the South Tampa, Florida area, is a Green Beret veteran who served in the Army five years after having his leg amputated, according to his biography.
According to the Combat Veterans for Congress Political Action Committee, Collins joined the Army in 1996 and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325 Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division in 2001.
He earned his Special Forces tab in 2005 and was a medic assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group.
While deployed to Afghanistan in 2007, Collins was injured as a mortar hit a building he was on top of, causing shrapnel injuries and Collins to fall.
His leg was amputated in 2013 because of nerve damage associated with the earlier injuries.
Collins' other assignments following 2007 included those with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and as a senior medical advisor for the 1st Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, until he retired at Fort Bragg in 2019.
• Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards served in the Army for eight years “ culminating with command of a rifle company” in the 82nd Airborne Division, before leaving the army with the rank of captain, according to his biography.
• Wes Moore, Democrat governor-elect for Maryland served as a captain with the 82nd Airborne Division “leading soldiers in combat in Afghanistan,” according to his biography.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
More:These are the stories of Fort Bragg's Medal of Honor recipients
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: These politicians were once Fort Bragg soldiers
