Tim Scott to roll out coalition of 100 veteran endorsers in home state South Carolina

EXCLUSIVE — Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is announcing a new veterans coalition in South Carolina on Wednesday with the endorsements of over 100 veterans across the Palmetto State, several of whom are prominent community members and business owners.

In Greenville, South Carolina, Scott is rolling out the endorsements, which include members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and National Guard.

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“Looking out for our veterans is personal to me,” Scott said in a statement. “As leadership on the world stage is needed now more than ever, we need a Commander-in-Chief who will restore American strength, improve the lives of our veterans, and safeguard our precious freedoms.”

“The president cannot standby today as our men and women in uniform are being attacked abroad, our allies are at war, and our veterans need our assistance more than ever,” he continued.

Members of the coalition include U.S. Navy veterans Luther Arnette, Bill Blakeley, George Michael Breland, Robert Cathcart Sr., Larry Church, Hannah Cox, Rebecca Crickton, Dwayne Cunningham, Jim Flatley, Richard Geraghty, Charles Hall, James Herzog, David Lambert, John Macioce, Robert McCray, David Schachte, Larry Willey, Richard Wiedenhoeft, Carlton Walker, Larry Sparks, Charles Smith, and Dave Shimp; U.S. Navy Reserve veterans Jerry Rovner, Pamela Gaddis, and Jim Dickinson; U.S. Army veterans John Bacot, Liston Barfield, Ernest Baylock Jr., Jeffrey Brown, Vince Brown, Gayla Carle, Matthew Conlin, Linda Cunningham, Jim Davis, Andrew Edwards, Richard Fields, Bradford Fipps, Robert Garrett, Harriett Holman, Herman Holman, Reginald Hughes, Arthur Jordan, Lowell Koppert, Jim Lanford, Bryan Marley, Donald McLeod, Craig Ostergard, Gary Pigg, Jeroid Ravenel, Larry Sossamon, Charles Tapp, Rodney Ward, Carl Wedler, Michael White, and Doug Wood; U.S. Army Reserve veteran Jerry Wall; U.S. Air Force veterans Ken Battle, Chris Beilder, Harry Bishop, Paul Bolen, Deborah Brown, Bob Castellani, Brandon Cox, Sonya Dana, Bill Dukes, Larry Gamble, Al Guest, Tammy Harvey, Joseph James, Bryce Johnson, Edward McConnell, Dan McQueeny, Terry Merritt, Bill Oden, Kay Patterson, Carl Ritchie, Michael Rose, Mark Scanlan, and Joe Terry; U.S. Air Force Reserve veterans John Glenn and John Ropp; U.S. Marine Corps veterans Brian Berg, Christopher Bourne, Marvin Bradshaw, Anthony Jenkins, Terry Jenkins, Michael Jones, Kevin Overbeck, Roger Pirie, Charles “Buddy” Reeves, Robert Roach, Anthony Watts, and Harry Way; and South Carolina Army National Guard veterans Jeremy Able, Sean Bennett, Abbott “Tre” Bray, Henry Brown, Robert Brown, Jeff Johnson, Butch Kitchen, John Osborne, and Ivan Vargas.

According to Jerry Rovner, a retired Navy captain who lives in Georgetown, South Carolina, “Tim Scott will stand up to the wokeness invading our nation’s military high command right now. That’s why 100 SC veterans are announcing their support for his campaign for President today.”

Rovner is also the South Carolina Republican Party’s seventh district Republican chairman and supported former President Donald Trump in 2016 and was a South Carolina delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Asked why Scott is preferable to Trump or Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), both of whom have made the military’s diversity, equity, and inclusion push central to their campaigns when it comes to addressing “wokeness” in the military, Rovner told the Washington Examiner that Scott has a better understanding of the military’s policy and organization federally, due to his time spent on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He described his discussions with the South Carolina senator, explaining, “we’ve talked over time about that the military should not be a social experiment.”

Because of Scott’s federal experience dealing with the military and national security — he now serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — Rovner said he might have a better “worldly view.”

Of his Scott endorsement, he added, “character to me is the most important.”

“Senator Scott’s strong conservative values and common-sense approach to the many issues we face — from national security to restoring the family, reforming education, and getting our economy back on track — make him the right choice for President. His calm, competent, and compassionate leadership is just what our country needs right now,” said Christopher Bourne, a retired Marine Corps veteran from Greenville, South Carolina.

One member of the coalition backing Scott, Bill Dukes, an Air Force veteran, assisted with the creation of South Carolina Honor Flight and serves as founder and chairman. He has helped organize the flights of thousands of World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see their memorial.

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Bob Castellani, also an Air Force veteran, is the CEO of North American Rescue, which produces “mission critical medical products” to be used during rescue missions. While in the Air Force, Castellani served as a pararescueman for nine years.

Scott will also tour the Rupert Huse Veteran Center and meet with local veterans during his trip to Greenville.