Senator Scott Brown returns from military training in Afghanistan

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

US Senator Scott Brown is on his way home from a week of training in Afghanistan, his office says.

Sen. Scott Brown

Brown, a National Guardsman for more than 31 years, spent most of his time in Kabul, his office says.

“Sen. Brown came away with a heightened appreciation for the service and sacrifice demonstrated by all those who are fighting overseas to keep America safe,” spokeswoman Marcie Kinzel said in a statement.

Brown is expected to return Thursday, said Kinzel.

Brown is a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He asked to fulfill his annual training obligations in Afghanistan, and “lived, ate and trained with the troops,” Kinzel said.

Brown said in May that he hoped the experience would offer him a fuller understanding of what American troops are facing.

It’s the first time he has trained in a war zone in his National Guard career.

Brown, 51, is facing reelection in 2012. He already faces several Democratic challengers, but the spotlight recently has been on Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, who is considering a challenge.

Brown scored a surprise victory over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in a 2010 special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of long-time liberal Democratic US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.