Our Liberties We Prize And Our Rights We Will Maintain

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Meet AJ Foster


I’m Andrew Jackson Foster, V, but you can call me ‘AJ’. My life’s experiences gives me a unique perspective on what it means to be American and not only proud of it, but determined to put America First as your next Senator from Iowa.

Oldest of five kids, I was born in Detroit, MI, while my Deaf missionary parents were on furlough from Africa. Two months later, we returned to Africa, where I would spend nine of my formative years; where Dad had first founded a school for the Deaf in Accra, Ghana in 1957.

Dad was born in Fairfield, Alabama and became deaf at age 11 from meningitis (about a year after he received a vaccine, while his younger brother became deaf shortly after being vaccinated). Back then, Alabama State School for Colored Deaf ended at 8th grade, so Dad eventually migrated to Detroit at 17, to live with his aunt, in pursuit of a HS diploma at the Michigan School for the Deaf.  Once again, he overcame another roadblock; too old to be admitted to HS, he instead earned his high school diploma through a correspondence school. He then turned his attention to college and attended Gallaudet University for the Deaf and in the process, became the first African-American to graduate, picking up a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education. And in spite of his deafness, he attended a Bible college and altogether earned 3 degrees in 5.5 years and was two hours shy of getting his private pilot’s license, before setting sail for Africa in late 1956.

Mom was born in Berlin, Germany, daughter of a bookstore owner and her mother was one of the first females to graduate from universitity, with a doctorate in Eastern Philosophy. Mom became deaf at age 4 from the German measles. She taught herself English by using a German-English Bible and dictionary. In 1959, Mom joined Dad in Africa, after having met him a few months earlier at the World Deaf Congress held in Wiesbaden, Germany. Thirty years after Dad established the first school, together they would plant a Deaf Bible College, 30 more schools in 13 countries and about the same number of Sunday Schools and Churches in those countries as well as 4 other countries.

In 1975, we returned to the US, after I completed 7th grade for another 2-3 year furlough, whereupon it was discovered that Mom had ovarian cancer. After 2 years of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, she was given 3 – 6 months to live when she decided to abandon established medical protocols and revert to fresh unprocessed foods and taking Laetrile (Vitamin B17). This enraged her Oncologist, who threatened her. As it turned out, 6 months later, the cancer had completely disappeared. She would then live another 4 decades cancer free, but the family never returned to Africa, while Dad continued to spend 6 months a year tending to the growing network of schools and churches.

As the ears and voice for my parents, I learned at an early age to translate for them.  The difference between translating and interpreting is that to interpret is to paraphrase while translating is word for word — words matter, especially in a formal or official setting. I learned that handicaps are no barrier to a will to succeed. I also watched resource-rich countries be driven into debt by IMF and World Bank loans for unnecessary projects, while international corporations plundered the land. Occupied colonialism had morphed into financial colonialism while wealth continued to be exfiltrated unabated by the Central Banks and corrupt public officials. Where countries embraced Marxism, the economic decline was accelerated. As for the Rockefellerian medical establishment, I learned that the AMA, FDA, CDC etc are not interested in healthcare, rather in “sickcare” which is far more profitable and on a long-term basis — a den of scum and villainy that will not hesitate to suppress the truth.

When I came of age, I enlisted and served 10 years in the Air National Guard, first with Michigan as an A-7D Corsair II crew chief, ending in Texas as a turboprop technician on C-130B/H Hercules. Concurrently, I studied Aviation Technology, with a minor in French, where I also worked part-time as an interpreter for Deaf students and later as aircraft engine lab assistant. After college, I moved to Dallas and worked for a major airline repair services company and rose to Quality Control Inspector.

In my 9th year with the Guard, I attended the USAF Non-Commissioned Officer’s Leadership School, at McGhee-Tyson Air Base, Tennessee. After 30 days in residence, I won the Distinguished Graduate award and was invited to apply for an instructor position. While there, we watched on CNN as the Berlin Wall fell. I returned to Dallas, thinking about moving to Berlin as an entrepreneur. During the next year and half, I moved up to Master Machinist at work, before I made my move. After the company denied my request for a leave of abscence; I drove home debating whether I should stay, apply as miltary instructor or go to Germany. When I arrived home, there was a teenager and his dad waiting for me. They “heard” my pickup was for sale, even though I had yet to put it up for sale, let alone talk to anyone about it. That sealed my decision to leave Dallas-Fort Worth for Germany.

In college, I learned that I had the gift for teaching and was encouraged by mentors to consider a teaching career. I also learned that integrity will pay off, even if it takes a while to manifest itself. Before and after I attended leadership school, management tried to strong-arm me into passing “out of limits” turbine shafts from 747s, by holding a promotion to section manager over me. I refused, and accepted the loss of promotion. Weeks later both engines failed catastrophically on the test stand after overhauls were completed and the company was forced to fire the manager that falsified the inspection. The reason management went to extremes was that Air China threatened to drop us as their repair shop. Because I protected the innocent machinists involved, the Union got me promoted to Master Machinist which paid a lot more than QC while I planned for leaving.  Less than 10 years later, the company was dissolved, putting a couple thousand employees out of work. I also know that God opens doors when we stay true.

After adventuring in Alaska for 7 months, I arrived in Berlin and went to work for the US Army as a tour bus driver and auto shop mechanic while making business contacts. Met a couple of like-minded Americans, we planned for when the US military would draw down from Berlin by September 1994. We started New World Tours which provided quality, professional services that English-speaking businesses required to establish relationships in Europe, and to facilitate their participation in the development of new markets in Eastern Europe and other developing countries. The first couple of years were pretty good, but became increasingly difficult due to German bureaucracy. A senior Berlin politician retired and and privatized his portfolio which was the department of tourism office with himself as CEO. In rapid succession, regulations were amended to make his new company the official point of contact and arbiter of “tourism licensing” which all but ended the tourism side of business for us. It was a good run while it lasted. For a time, the US Embassy continued to send us referrals, but that too soon ended. And it was during this period that I met my wife.

I learned a lot about doing business, and politics, in Germany and to compare and contrast to the U.S.  For all of their mostly bad socialist policies, there are some good fiscal ideas that would spur job creation for us in the U.S. Their approach to regulations is interesting, only in the sense that the end result of too much regulations suppresses innovation and growth. As in nothing is “allowed”, unless expressly written to be allowable, meaning that it will be up to the courts to decide whether an “un-allowed” thing is illegal, if not, then new regulations will be necessary to allow that thing.

About 18 months after the birth of our daughter, I went to work for a defense contractor in support of Bosnia/Kosovo war at Germersheim Army Depot. We fielded over 1,200 new tactical vehicles, as well as installing experimental armor on a variety of trucks. I was proud to be a part of deploying the brand new XM-1114 armored Humvees that actually protected soldiers from ambushes and mines in Kosovo. I saw how short-sighted Generals canceled the cargo truck armoring projects and cut back on armored Humvees, which would bite them a few short years later when soldiers fought in Iraq without the armor. As deputy site manager, in 1998, I watched Clinton’s Secretary of State, Madeline Albright renegotiate our Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), basically letting Germany profit from the doubled cost of business, as well as taxing our “non-exempt” contractors as “German workers”. When President Trump talks about former administrations not knowing how to deal, “Addled Dimlight” was the epitome, not out of incompetence, but a deliberate weakening of our military. By late 2000, many contractors were forced out of Germany. My company then sent me to Korea and several US based Forts to continue fielding the now standard M-1114 armored Humvees.

It goes without saying that most Generals are political animals, but thinking that new uniforms and black berets (made in China) is a priority over armored vehicles boggles the mind. Working with the State Department and the VIPs that came through also opened my eyes to that side of the government. The best thing about this phase was honing my leadership skills, either by example or by persuasion, and most of all, caring for the employees’ well-being and safety.

In 2001, I hired on to another contractor as project manager, in which I was responsible for writing technical and cost proposals and going on sites to supervise execution. One such contract was to provide Army tactical vehicle maintenance support in Iraq, for which we received the ‘2005 Defense-Logistics Contractor of the Year Award‘. Another was to upgrade digital Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at various Air Force bases.  Non-defense related contracts included upgrading digital telecommunication system for the FAA in Iowa and Missouri, as well as upgrading their Warehouse Management System (WMS) software, WLAN, barcode scanners and tablets while reducing their warehouse footprint from 500,000 to 400,000 square feet in Oklahoma City. We bought a house in OKC and moved the family from Berlin, before I deployed again to Iraq to lead a team of Field Service Representatives providing MRAP warranty support, as well as Driver’s and Unit Maintenance training.

I continued to develop leadership and management skills as well as learning, autodidact style, about different technologies while delivering customer satisfaction and value.  Gained an understanding of laws and regulations in negotiating with government contract officers and counted it a success whenever I could deliver under budget and/or ahead of schedule which reflected well on my employers.

In 2009, I left Iraq early in order to kick off a new major IT contract with the Army at Rock Island Arsenal, IL.  Initially I expected to be there only 9 months to a year, but when our Program Manager decided to retire, I ended up managing the remainder of the 3-year contract to transform several logistics legacy systems under the Army’s Logistics Management Program (LMP). Shortly before that ended, we won a follow-on contract that would roll up the rest of the Army’s 27 legacy systems into the Army Global Combat Support System (GCSS-A).  Seven years later, we completed all requirements under budget and the contract ended a year early.  Through it all, my team consistently received high marks from the customer.

I now stand here before you as a Senate candidate and parent with five children.  Like many of you, I am disgusted by politicians putting their lust for wealth and power ahead of We the People. They have actively sold off our children’s birthrights to corporate and foreign interests while ignoring Main Street.

I humbly ask you for your support, by downloading a copy of the nomination petition, sign it and get eligible family and friends to sign it and please mail it back to me at the following address:

AJ Foster 4 Iowa
PO Box 524
Bettendorf, IA 52722-0009

You don’t have to commit to voting for me, all I ask is that I get the chance to be on the primary ballot for June 07, 2022, by which time you can choose whether or not you will vote for me.  Should you decide that you want to do more than support my nomination, please check out the volunteer page.

 

When elected I will rely on the Founding Documents to actively work towards restoring our children‘s birthright and remember you, THE FORGOTTEN AMERICAN.

My Recommended Reading List

Aside from the Founding Documents, i.e. Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as well as the Federalist Papers, I also recommend the following when it comes to governance and public policy

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