Morgan City’s Brown wins Newport Navy honor

Morgan City native Kendall Brown received the Blue Jacket of the Quarter award at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island.
The Blue Jacket of the Quarter award is given to the top sailor of the quarter. Sailors compete within their peer groups.
Brown, a boatswain mate third class, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 2009.
“For a Petty Officer third class and below to be awarded such a title, he or she must be nominated by his or her respective department for an outstanding performance throughout an entire quarter of the fiscal year,” said Boatswain Mate Chief Petty Officer Americo Medina, port operations leading petty officer in charge, Naval Station Newport.
“The sailor will then go in front of a board of several first class petty officers for uniform inspection and answer a variety of questions which include basic military requirements, naval history, leadership, character, current events and other topics,” Medina said.
“Boatswain Mate Brown did an excellent job on all counts,” said Medina.
Brown works in port operations. His duties include serving as helmsman and lookout; repairing; working in non-engineering divisions of the ship or station; standing security watches while in port and under way; operating sound-powered telephone systems; serving as a member of damage control, emergency and security alert teams; and taking part in underway replenishment.
Brown is currently working on a bachelor of science degree in cyber security at Roger Williams University in Providence, Rhode Island.
“Transitioning from elementary to high school was kind of rough for him,” said Judith Brown, mother of Brown. “He had a little bit of dyslexia, I later found out.”
“At that point in time, they didn’t have too much support in the school system for that,” Judith Brown said. “It was a couple of other things going on in the community I didn’t feel comfortable with him being exposed to.”
Brown’s mother felt it was best for him to live with his uncle, Paul Brown, former Navy man, and he, too, agreed.
Kendall Brown’s high school years were spent at I.C. Norcom in Portsmouth, Virginia. He joined and remained a member of the JROTC program for four years.
Returning to Morgan City after graduating from high school, Brown joined the Navy to “travel the world and serve his country and family.”
He enlisted a few weeks before his birthday Nov. 11 — Veteran’s Day.
The military legacy in his family continues with Brown. His grandfather served in the Army, in addition, his uncles served in the Navy, Marines, and Army.
Brown has already spent seven months on assignments in each of the following places: Djibouti (Africa), Kuwait, and Jebel Ali (United Arab Emirates).
Brown believes the JROTC program prepared him for basic training in Chicago.
“The most I got out of boot camp is if you’re asked to do something, do it to the best of your ability,” said Brown. “Or if you don’t know something you never tell them I don’t know, you tell them, I’ll get back with you on the answer.
“Just be straightforward, honest, and truthful in everything you do.”
Brown believes “every little thing has a meaning,” from the process of folding clothes to organizing paperwork.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Brown said. “There’s always something new to learn. You just have to put forth the effort in doing it on your own.”
After boot camp, Brown was stationed at Coastal Riverine Squadron 2 in Portsmouth, Virginia. During his time there, he returned to his alma mater, Norcom High School, to volunteer his time and talents with the JROTC program.
“He was always a very mannerable young man, but being exposed to Navy life was the best thing for him,” said Judith Brown.
“I was very proud of him for winning the award, pretty much always knew the Navy was what he always wanted to do after high school.”

This story was written by Shea Drake of The Daily Review staff. Reach her at sdrake@daily-review.com.