On the first day of a six-week military training in Georgia, Utah County Commissioner Tanner Ainge has injured himself — posting a picture on social media of a bloody gash on his shin.
“Day 1 of training in @FortBenning. Only allowed [to] leave the room today for #COVID19 testing, then return to quarantine while awaiting results,” Ainge posted on Twitter. “Instead, I stepped into a 2ft hole encased with jagged PVC. Genius. Welcome to the @USArmy!”
In May, the 36-year-old attorney was sworn in to the Utah National Guard as a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps, or JAG — to represent the Army and soldiers in military legal matters. Ainge will participate in the training at Fort Benning, Ga., from Aug. 9 to Sept. 18.
Senior Policy Advisor at Utah County Ezra Nair said Ainge had his wound cleaned and stitched and should be able to complete his training.
And the Utah County Commissioner was lucky — Nair said “because of quarantine protocols there was already some planned time where there would not be intense physical training.”
While in Georgia, Ainge is continuing to serve as the commission’s chairman, taking part in public meetings by phone or video teleconferencing.
Ainge has worked in private equity firms and was elected to the Utah County Commission in 2018, a year after he lost his bid to replace former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz in a special election.
In July, he made national headlines when he clashed with commissioner Bill Lee, who drew around 150 supporters to a meeting to protest a face mask mandate in public schools to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The meeting was tense, specially when Ainge motioned to adjourn at the very beginning because too many Utahns were unmasked and ignoring social distancing guidelines in the commission’s small boardroom.
Ainge is also known for being the son of former NBA and Brigham Young University basketball player Danny Ainge, who is now the general manager of the NBA’s Boston Celtics.