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Allen Edward Weh (born November 17, 1942) is an American business executive, politician, and retired
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for
governor of New Mexico , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , inc ...
in the 2010 election, and the Republican Nominee for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...
2014 election against incumbent Democratic Senator
Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator fro ...
. He is the founder and CEO of CSI Aviation Inc., the largest supplier of deportation flights for illegal immigrants in the United States, until the contract ended in 2017. Since then, the company has focused on its growing air ambulance operations in the United States.


Early life and education

Weh was born in Salem, Oregon and grew up in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...
, and
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
. In 1960, Weh graduated from
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, New Jersey, United States, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains and the ...
in
Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 ...
. He earned a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in education and
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...
in counseling from the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...
.


Career

Weh began his military service as an enlisted Marine before selection for
Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Typ ...
. He served two tours in Vietnam and with the
British Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marines ...
in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Colonel Weh was recalled for active duty during the
Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
, for the U.S. expedition into Somalia, and to serve as chief of staff of
Marine Forces Pacific Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) is the United States Marine Corps service component command of United States Indo-Pacific Command. It is the largest field command in the Marine Corps and is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii. It is c ...
prior to retiring in 1997. In 2003 and 2004. he was again recalled from the USMC Retired List to serve in Iraq and given a key leadership role with the creation and organization of the new Iraqi Army. For his service, Weh received a
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...
, the
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
, two
Bronze Star Medals The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...
, one with V device, a
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
with two gold stars, the Meritorious Service medal with gold star, and five
Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...
s. In 1979, Weh and his wife, Rebecca Roberton Weh, launched CSI Aviation Services, Inc., a worldwide company that charters flights for private, commercial and government uses. In the years since, CSI has grown into a multimillion-dollar company, providing services to corporations,
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-te ...
and the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
, as well as medical flight services. Weh served as chairman of the
New Mexico Republican Party The Republican Party of New Mexico is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Mexico. It is headquartered in Albuquerque and led by Chair Steve Pearce, Vice Chair Frank Trambley, Secretary Mari Trujillo Spinelli, and Treasure ...
from 2004 to 2008.


2010 gubernatorial primary

On 1 June 2010, Weh lost to his main opponent in the primary,
Dona Ana County Dona may refer to: * Feminine form for don (honorific) (Spanish: doña, Portuguese: dona; Italian: donna), a Spanish, Portuguese, southern Italian, and Filipino title, given as a mark of respect * Feminine form for dom (title), titled nobility in ...
District Attorney
Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...
. At the end of the election, Weh came up second with the votes, as compared to opponents Susana Martinez who took the lead, Doug Turner who came to third, Pete Domenici, Jr. in fourth, and Janice Arnold Jones who came in last. Weh conceded to Martinez shortly after 9:00 PM when Martinez held over half of the precinct votes, or 8,000 votes greater than Weh. Weh offered his congratulations to Martinez just after her decided victory". Martinez went on to win the general election.


2014 U.S. Senate election

In the 2014 election, Weh ran on the Republican ticket for United States Senate seat against the incumbent Democrat
Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator fro ...
. In the primary he faced David Clements, also of Doña Ana County, a former assistant district attorney and chairman of the county Republican Party. In the straw poll at the Republican state convention, Clements polled a strong 47% against the well-known Weh, but in the June primary Weh beat Clements handily 63% to 37%. In the general election Weh had the full support of the
National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the l ...
(NRSC), the
National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...
(NRA) and other groups who sponsored independent political advertisements. However, in October the NRSC diverted its attention and money away from New Mexico to the six states that it thought would determine control of the Senate. In the first televised debate between Udall and Weh the issues of immigration reform, job creation in New Mexico, and drought management were addressed. Weh argued Obama's policies and Udall said that he stood on his record. A second debate was scheduled at the last minute for 30 October, where issues included the national debt, Obamacare, and the economy. Weh clarified his position on the minimum wage saying, "I break with my party on this, I'm fine with raising the minimum wage." Udall won with 55.5% of the vote.


Notes


External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Weh, Allen 1942 births Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy Living people New Mexico Republicans Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star State political party chairs of New Mexico