West, Allen, 1961-

Allen Bernard West (born February 7, 1961) is an American politician, and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. A member of the Republican Party, West represented Florida's 22nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and has served as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas since 2020.

West was deployed to Kuwait in 1991 and Iraq in 2003. In 2003, West was charged in an incident that involved the beating and simulated execution of an Iraqi policeman, with West firing a gun near the Iraqi man's head during an interrogation. After an Article 32 hearing was held, West accepted non-judicial punishment, was fined $5,000, and allowed to retire as a lieutenant colonel. After leaving the military, West moved to Florida, where he taught at a high school for a year and worked for a defense contractor, part of this time spent in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser to the Afghan National Army.

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