# Sam Brown (military)

Samuel Boaz Brown is an American and Cherokee political candidate and military officer. He served in the United States Army during the War in Afghanistan, and sustained burns to thirty percent of his body due to an improvised explosive device injury in 2008.
Brown began several business ventures and became active in Republican Party politics in Texas. In 2014, he unsuccessfully sought the party's nomination for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. After moving to Nevada in 2018, Brown unsuccessfully ran for the Nevada U.S. Senate nomination in 2022. He ran again in 2024, this time winning the Republican Party nomination, but lost to Democratic incumbent Senator Jacky Rosen in the general election.
In early January 2025, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Brown as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

## Early life and family

Brown was born in Arkansas into a military family; his father and two younger brothers also served in the War on Terror after the September 11th attacks. He was educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 2006. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Methodist University.

## Military service

After completing his training at the United States Army Infantry School, Ranger School, and Airborne School, Brown joined 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
In 2008, he was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he served as an infantry Platoon Leader. In September 2008, while supporting the multinational cooperative project of delivering a turbine to the Kajaki Dam, he and his soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device when responding to another US Army unit that was ambushed and in a direct fire.
As a result, thirty percent of Brown's body was burned, and he lost his left index finger. He was evacuated and was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Due to this event, he is sometimes called Burning Man.
Brown's recovery from the burn wounds and experimental pain management solutions were covered by multiple media outlets. He was a participant in medical studies using virtual reality to reduce pain during physical therapy sessions. His physical therapy was a long and painful process that lasted several years.
In 2011, Brown retired as a Captain from the U.S. Army. In 2012, he returned to Afghanistan to provide inspiration to US troops deployed there, and to have a chance for a "proper exit."

## Civilian career

In 2012, Brown founded Palisade Strategies, a firm that provided critical medications to veterans when Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics could not. Brown sold the business in 2022.

## Political campaigns

In 2014, Brown ran in the Republican primary for the District 10 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. He finished in third place with 27.5% of the vote.
In 2021, Brown launched his campaign to become a US Senator from Nevada. His campaign drew national attention, both from media and fundraisers. He raised over $1 million every quarter of his campaign as he challenged Adam Laxalt, a Republican who was endorsed by Donald Trump for the US Senate seat.
Brown received the support and endorsement of local and state political party leaders, but lost in the primary election, receiving 34% of the vote to Laxalt's 56%.
After this loss, Brown formed the Duty First PAC. As of August 2023, the Duty First PAC had spent most of the contributions it had received to repay debts from Brown’s 2022 campaign, with 7% of its spending going to other Republican candidates.

### 2024 U.S. Senate campaign

In July 2023, Brown announced his second candidacy for a Nevada U.S. Senate seat, this time challenging incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in the 2024 election. His Republican challengers for the Republican nomination included former Trump administration Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter, former Nevada State Representative Jim Marchant, and ten other candidates. His campaign was endorsed by U.S. Republican senators Steve Daines of Montana and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
In February 2024, Brown's wife, Amy, spoke about an abortion she had in Texas just prior to meeting her husband. Sam Brown opposes a federal abortion ban and supports Nevada's current law that legally protects the right to an abortion. Brown had previously supported a 2013 Texas law banning abortion after 20 weeks that did not provide exceptions for rape or incest.
In June 2024, Trump endorsed Brown in the Republican primary. Brown was a featured speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, speaking on unity and the high cost of war.
During former Trump's nomination acceptance speech on the final night of the convention, Trump praised Brown, saying: "[Brown] paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that is running for office, and I think he is going to do great." Brown was the only 2024 U.S. Senate candidate mentioned by Trump during his speech.

## Nonprofit activity

Brown followed his 2022 campaign for U.S. Senate by becoming the chairman of the Nevada Faith and Freedom Coalition, a political non-profit organization. The state chapter's efforts focused on "combating human trafficking, advocating for meaningful criminal justice reform, and supporting the devastated communities recovering from the COVID-19 shutdowns."

## Personal life

Brown is a member of the Cherokee Nation.
In May 2009, Brown married Amy Larsen, an Army first lieutenant from South Dakota and critical care dietitian who worked in the Department of Defense Burn Center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Brown and his family have lived in Reno, Nevada, since 2018 and are active members at their church, Calvary Chapel Reno-Sparks.