According to First State Update, Kenneth “Ed” Brandt announced his campaign for Congress Friday night at the Kent County Republican Dinner. Here is some background on Brandt from a Lancaster Online article from last year when he was promoted to Brigadier General Chaplain, senior Army National Guard chaplain and U.S. Army deputy chief of chaplains for the National Guard:
A 1977 graduate of Elizabethtown (Pa.) High School, Brandt joined the National Guard in 1989 while serving as pastor at Cedar Grove Presbyterian Church (USA) in East Earl Township. In 1997, he moved to Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church in Wilmington. His posting in Delaware led him to Iraq, where he was deployed in 2008-09 with the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, a National Guard unit from Delaware. He was charged with the pastoral care of 1,200 soldiers.
Brandt, who was stationed inside the compound, said that although he could hear shooting beyond the safety zone, he felt safe. But it was inside the complex of camps — at nearby Camp Liberty — that he experienced what he termed his most traumatic incident with the military.
On May 11, 2009, U.S. Army Sgt. John M. Russell shot and killed five fellow soldiers following an argument at a combat stress center. Brandt saw emergency personnel at Camp Liberty as he was jogging that day. When he returned to his office, he was informed of the shooting.
He lives in Brandwine Hundred with his wife. Together, they have three grown children.
Mr. Brandt says he is running because “too frequently the political class in Washington focuses on the issues that divide us most, and ignore the real challenges the people of Delaware face. I believe it’s time we put the First State first.”
Well, I will note that the issues that do not divide us are usually the easy issues that we can and do address. And thus they do not get much attention. Issues that divide us do get attention and focus because they divide us, and thus, are not readily solvable. Secondly, about putting the First State first. He is running for Congress. To be our representative in Congress. Congress deals with national issues. It does not focus solely on Delaware to the exclusion of all other states, much to our chagrin. So it is an odd statement to make. Perhaps he should run for Governor if he just wants to just focus on Delaware.
A military chaplain is someone who decides that getting over “Thou shalt not kill” is preferable to getting another job.
too frequently the political class in Washington focuses on the issues that divide us most
Nice dogwhistle. Someone should tell him we aren’t playing identity politics any more.
But at least he thinks that “it’s time we put the First State first.” So at least there is that.
General Brandt apparently is active-duty, full-time National Guard. I didn’t get that from what I read, but maybe I wasn’t careful. But it seems that he may have some issues with his announcement since he is still active-duty, full-time National Guard and should not be engaging in partisan speech.
As a retired Army reservist, I do not see how he can serve as a Representative, and be on active-duty status, regardless of him being in the Guard. There are members of Congress that are reservists, and do their two-week stint every year, but they are not on active duty except for the two weeks and when they attend their once-a-month musters. However, it’s a bit confusing if you’re in the National Guard, as far as the official guidance goes: See https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Policies/doddirective134410.pdf.
The DoD Directive is not as clear as it could be regarding National Guard members holding office when they are on active duty. It seems that if BG Brandt is on active-duty exceeding 270 days (full time), he cannot serve as a member of Congress. At least that’s what I get out of reading DoD Directive 134410….