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| Coast Guard’s First African-American Admiral |
| 2004-02-03 |
| One day in 1967, Erroll M. Brown, then a high school senior in St. Petersburg, Fla., opened his mailbox and pulled out a 3-by-5-inch white postcard addressed to him. It read in part, "Are you interested in going to the Coast Guard Academy?" If interested, the recipient was to check a little box and give the postcard to his guidance counselor so his grades could be mailed in. The teenager checked the box after discussing military service with his mother and stepfather. He saw the academy as a way to pay for his college education. But he didn’t have the slightest inkling that checking the "yes" box on the little white postcard would be his first step toward becoming the first African-American admiral in the Coast Guard’s 207-year history in 1998. "I’d played football in high school, but given my size, I wasn’t going to get a football scholarship," said the 5-foot-6-inch, 157-pound rear admiral. "My mother, who was an elementary school teacher, had stressed the importance of education, so I wanted to continue my education. My father, who served two years in the Army, said military service was a good deal, and that he wished he’d stayed in." His mother’s words of wisdom still resonate today for the 53-year-old admiral: "Son, it’s your decision, because you’re the one who is going to have to do it." Armed with his parents’ advice, the teenager had a decision to make. "So I checked the ’yes’ box, and here I am!" said the quick-witted Brown, who calls himself a "frustrated wanna-be basketball player." That’s because he wanted to play basketball at the academy, but ended up making the football team and playing intramural basketball. As the Coast Guard’s assistant commandant for systems, Brown manages a $1 billion annual budget, nearly $8 billion in capital plant infrastructure, 174 employees in four headquarters directorates, and some 1,526 employees at three headquarters units. This includes the Coast Guard Yard and the Engineering Logistics Center in Baltimore and the Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C. Brown, known as the Coast Guard’s "chief engineer", also is responsible for supporting the organization’s five strategic goals of safety, protection of natural resources, mobility, maritime security and national defense. SNIP |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #4 I too salute the man. That sort of success in any career requires hard work and consistency of output over a long period of time. Kudos to him for choosing the route of education and hard work to achieve some measure of success in his chosen career! Let's face it, the world, in every country, has huge problems with atavism (my group is better than your group) whether that is ethnic, geographic, or by race. The American cultural success over the past 50 years of providing significant unlimited opportunity for any who want to work hard and, yes, play by the rules of the culture one lives in, is wonderful. Let's salute America too! |
| Posted by: Coloradoan 2004-2-4 6:25:52 AM |
| #3 Speaking for noone but myself, I didn't comment earlier because I didn't want to lend any support to the idea of this being a "(whatever)-American" accomplishment. In my mind, it's an "American" accomplishment, or it's not. There are no shades or degrees of American. This is one hell of an accomplishment, and I am very proud of Adm. Brown and thank him for serving his country. I also enjoyed the amusing story of how he wound up at the academy more or less by a twist of fate. But in my mind he's an American, hyphen be damned, and I salute him for accomplishing what few men of any heritage ever will. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-3 9:53:18 PM |
| #2 When the press stops pointing it out and when Americans who happen to be of some particular racial / ethnic blend stop pointing it out, America will truly be color blind. A good man / woman is a good man / woman -- who gives a shit what else they are? I'll take a green trisexual from Mars over a PC-weenie hyphenation-hound J-school jackass anytime. Good for Mr Brown - and good for us he's there doing the job. Screw the press. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-2-3 9:25:28 PM |
| #1 LOL. Sad there's no comments. Wait! No I'm not... what's the news? LOL |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-3 6:45:51 PM |