U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., wants Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown on the U.S. Naval Academy?s Board of Visitors, which advises the president on the academy?s progress.
Brown “has ties with Annapolis,” Mikulski said Monday at the board?s quarterly meeting on Capitol Hill.
On the board are two vacancies, one of which was held by former U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes.
The positions are selected by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
White House spokesman Blair Jones declined to comment on Brown being a candidate.
Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a Republican, served on the board, which functions as an oversight and advisory panel for Bush.
Its members include business and congressional leaders, such as academy alum Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Through a spokeswoman, Brown said he “would be honored to serve if appointed” and was humbled by Mikulski?s comments.
Mikulski said Brown?s experience in the Gulf War may help the board, as well as his role as chairman of the subcommittee on Base Realignment and Closure.
The academy is not part of the 2005 BRAC legislation, nor is the neighboring Annapolis Naval Station.
However, Annapolis is expected to experience some effects from BRAC, particularly traffic and potential residential growth from Fort Meade in Odenton.
The Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, which is not part of the academy, will be affected by BRAC.
Though the Naval Academy has no say in the board selections, officials did not return calls for comment.
Maryland has three elected officials on the board ? Mikulski and U.S. Reps. Elijah Cummings and Steny Hoyer ? the most of any state.
Maryland has the most midshipmen nominations per state population (7.7), and is fourth behind California, Texas and Florida in the number of current midshipmen (280).
Though Brown has military experience, it was with the Army.
He was a second lieutenant helicopter pilot in Germany in the late 1980s.
In 2005, Brown was deployed to Iraq as an Army reservist.
However, other branches of the military, such as the Air Force, also are represented on the board.
