Schweitch

Republican Tom Schweich, the former State Department official running for Missouri auditor, is getting pulled off the campaign trail — way off — on an international mission.

Schweich has been invited to Germany to train NATO officers about to deploy to Afghanistan, where he served under President George W. Bush as coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform.

In Germany, Schweich will focus on educating the soldiers on crime and corruption in Afghanistan.

Schweich, currently the ambassador in residence at the Washington University Law School, has a long diplomatic resume: He was in international law enforcement for the State Department and served as John Danforth’s chief of staff at the United Nations.

Previously, Schweich was the lead staff member for Danforth’s Waco investigation.

If you told Schweich that his international experience seemed better suited for U.S. Senate than Jefferson City bean counter, it wouldn’t be the first time he heard it.

But, that issue was settled months ago, when Schweich assured Congressman Roy Blunt, the presumptive GOP nominee for Senate, that he wouldn’t challenge him in the primary.