Has Brown’s Military Experience Prepared Him to Serve on the Forsyth County Commission?

--By Col. Tommy Partin on --

Shoes divide men into three classes.  Some men wear their fathers’ shoes.  They make no decisions of their own.  Some men are unthinkingly shod by the crowd, but the strong man is his own cobbler.  He insists on making his own choices.  He walks in his own shoes.  (S. D. Gordon)

A military officer is trained to gather as much information from as many sources as possible before making a decision and then making a sometimes hard decision that is best for those he is representing.  This experience would well serve any elected official in the furtherance of his efforts to represent his constituents.

Desired qualities of every military officer of theUnited Statesare:

• Strong belief in human rights
• Respect for the dignity of very person
• The Golden Rule attitude toward one’s daily associates
• An abiding interest in all aspects of human welfare
• A willingness to deal with every man as considerately as if he were a blood relative

Expectations based on proven experience as a retired military officer:

• Communicator
• Listens
• Decisions benefit constituents
• Considers all aspects
• Honest
• Fair
• Respectful
• Integrity
• Continues education after military service
• Leader
• Variety of responsibilities/job/position
• Active in community
• Accessibility (retired)

Dennis Brown

• Served as officer in the U.S. Army for over 20 years
• Attained the rank of Colonel
• Commanded numerous and variable size units from 150 to 3,000+ people
• Masters Degree
• As a senior officer he served in combat with responsibility for over 3,000 peoples’ health and welfare, logistics,      training, operational planning, fiscal planning and accountability, public affairs and intelligence gathering.

Oftentimes we may think a senior military officer’s experience may not prepare him for service as an elected public official.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Change the title of the military officer to Commissioner, Mayor, Representative, Senator, etc., and most of the time it will be very evident that the military officer’s training, education, varied experiences, attitude, honesty and concern for the health and welfare of those charged to his stead far exceed the experience expected or needed for most elected public officials.

by Tommy Partin, Col. U S Army Retired