BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Kendrick became part of a family when he joined the military. Now, his job is to look after the best interests of those family members as the Florida National Guard’s new senior enlisted leader.
Kendrick, a 1989 Bradford High School graduate, was promoted on May 14, replacing Command Sgt. Major David Lanham, who retired after 35-plus years of service.
“Just incredibly excited and very honored to have the opportunity to serve the soldiers and the airmen of the Florida National Guard” Kendrick said. “That’s really how I see this position. It’s one of service. It’s my job to advocate for them, make sure they have the resources and the equipment needed to fight and win our nation’s wars and the resources and the equipment they need to ensure that we can support our citizens here in Florida should a natural disaster — hurricane, wildfire and that sort of thing — strike here.”
Kendrick, who lives in St. Augustine with his wife, Tracey, didn’t intend to make a career out of being in the military, but what was once viewed as an avenue to help him pay for college became a love and something he wanted to be a part of.
‘A great deal’
Kendrick said he lived a “country kind of lifestyle” growing up in Graham, enjoying such activities as hunting and fishing.
“Graham is a little more populated today than it was in the ‘70s or ‘80s, but it’s still pretty sparse,” said Kendrick, who attended Brooker Elementary School.
He participated in weightlifting at BHS as well as playing football for David Hurse.
“I loved Coach Hurse,” Kendrick said. “He was a role model. He did more than just make football players. He really was interested in building men, good citizens — work hard, do your best, do the right thing and treat others the way you want to be treated.”
Kendrick’s father, Jim, is an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War. Kendrick, though, had no thoughts of joining the military until he reached that moment in high school where he started mulling over his options, telling himself, “OK. What am I going to do? If I’m going to college, how am I going to pay for it?”
His father invited an Army Reserve recruiter to the house. The recruiter also brought along an active-duty recruiter. Kendrick said he listened the Army Reserve recruiter and found it appealing that he could fulfil his commitment while still going to college and possibly working a part-time job as well.
Then he heard what the active-duty recruiter had to say about a two-year commitment and being able to qualify for the GI Bill and the Army College Fund.
“I was like, ‘Wow. That sounds like a great deal,’” Kendrick said. “Two years. Maybe get stationed somewhere. Go see the world. Come back, and college will be paid for.
“That’s what I did. The Army Reserve recruiter probably regrets having brought the active-duty recruiter along. He just poached a recruit.”
Joining a family
Kendrick went from Graham to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. He became a combat engineer and was assigned to the 9th Engineer Battalion in Germany. He deployed with the battalion in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Kendrick said he was too “young and dumb” to be afraid.
“When you’re that young, you’re 10 feet tall and bullet-proof,” he said. “You’re not the one who’s ever going to get hurt or injured.”
Not that he would’ve given thought to being afraid anyway.
“When you’re a private, you do what you’re told,” Kendrick said. “There’s no thinking involved.”
His service took him to see other countries, which is what he was hoping to get out of joining the Army. He saw how those countries were different from the United States, but he also saw similarities.
“Every culture around the world is different, but people truly are basically the same no matter where you go,” Kendrick said. “Moms and dads want their kids to be able to walk to school safely and get a good education. They want them to do a little better than they did. I think that’s true of Europeans. That’s been true when I deployed to predominantly Islamic countries.
“At the end of the day, people really are the same all over.”
What Kendrick also discovered is that he fell in love with being in the military, even though he joined the Army expecting just to “do my one hitch and get out.”
“At the end of my enlistment, I really had grown kind of fond of the Army,” he said, adding, “I think what kept me interested was the camaraderie. When we get it right in the military, it feels like a second family. It really becomes a fulfilling part of your life.”
After completing his active-duty requirements, Kendrick transitioned into the Florida National Guard. He spent a number of years at Camp Blanding, mostly with the 221st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company from 1992 until 2002. He first volunteered as an EOD disposal technician and was later hired full-time to be the administration and supply non-commissioned officer.
Kendrick later spent two years in St. Augustine before returning to Camp Blanding from 2004 until 2008. In 2006, as a first sergeant, he deployed with the 221st EOD Company in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, coordinating multiple explosive ordnance-disposal teams operating in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar.
That deployment was different from his participation in the earlier Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He felt the burden of responsibility that comes with wanting to make sure everyone who deployed was able to return home. He talked of how parents would come up to him during departure ceremonies, telling him they were entrusting him with their sons and daughters.
“There was plenty of concern there because you’ve got multiple teams working in three different countries in some very dangerous conditions,” Kendrick said. “It’s that weight that you feel as a leader — ‘Hey, I’m responsible for these soliders.’”
Kendrick added, “It’s an entirely different experience from being a private, when you’re worried only about yourself.”
In 2008, Kendrick was promoted, becoming the G3 (operations and training) directorate sergeant major at Joint Force Headquarters in St. Augustine. Later, he served as the G1 (military personnel) sergeant major.
The G1 position proved invaluable.
“That one assignment probably helped better prepare me for the job I’m in now than any other because most of the advice that I provide (as senior enlisted leader) deals with people, whether it’s promotions, awards, discipline — those kinds of things.”
Kendrick, who was selected for appointment to command sergeant major in 2013, also served as commandant for the NCO academy at the 211th Regiment, Regional Training Institute at Camp Blanding. Additional leadership tours included serving as command sergeant major for the 753rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, command sergeant major for the 83rd Troop Command and state command sergeant major for the Florida National Guard.
Serving as senior enlisted leader
Kendrick said he’ll be working in his current position to help the Guard members meet training requirements that were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because everything ground to a halt, we weren’t able to send a lot of our soldiers and airmen off to the training that they require to be promoted,” he said. “I think probably for the majority of my time here, I’ll be assisting with the after-effects, trying to get all those schools scheduled, making up all that required education that needed to occur.”
That’s a priority, as is increasing the numbers in the Florida National Guard. Kendrick said Florida has the second-to-worst Guard member-to-citizen ratio in the U.S. and its territories.
“Florida has been growing,” Kendrick said. “We’re growing every day it seems like. Folks are moving here. A lot of those new residents are maybe an elderly population. A lot of them want to live along the coast. That means if we get a hurricane, there are a lot more folks who need assistance.
“The Florida National Guard has not grown proportionally to keep pace with our increased population. Our number-one priority is growing the force. Anything I can do to assist our recruiting efforts is a priority.”
Kendrick said he also sees a need for improved communication within the Guard so that soldiers and airmen better understand the career paths they’re on and its requirements as well as the benefits they’re entitled to.
“It’s amazing to me that in this day and age, when we can communicate more easily to more people around the world, we still really struggle to get some important messages all the way down to our soldiers and airmen,” Kendrick said.
Kendrick said in baseball, a hitter can bat .500 and be a star and make a lot of money, but that batting average, if you will, won’t do in his and other leadership positions in the Guard.
“In this business, we have to be right 100 percent of the time,” he said. “It puts a lot of pressure on whoever sits in a position like this to constantly look for ways to improve our processes.”
It’s a big responsibility being the senior enlisted leader and advising the adjutant general on the morale and welfare of the soldiers and airmen.
“It’s a joyful burden to have, but it is a weight that you feel,” Kendrick said.
When he’s not working, Kendrick said one of his hobbies is music.
“I hesitate to say I play guitar and bass because I’ll never earn a dime,” he said. “There’s no danger of me becoming a professional by any stretch of the imagination.”
He also enjoys riding motorcycles and just recently bought his first Harley-Davidson.
“Before that, I primarily rode sport bikes,” Kendrick said. “I’ve had Hondas, Kawasakis and Suzukis. I had one of just about everything.”
Kendrick said he bought a Harley in part because there’s a camaraderie that exists between Harley owners, and a lot of towns have Harley riders’ groups. He had an eye toward his life after the Florida National Guard when he made the purchase.
“I started realizing the only people I socialize with or hang out with wear this uniform,” Kendrick said. “What am I going to do in a couple of years? Because this is the end of the road in the Florida National Guard for me. There are no other positions I can go to.”
Until retirement, Kendrick is exactly where he’s supposed to be. His wife and his three daughters — Katelyn, Chloe and Kelsey — are one family. The Florida National Guard (and the Army before it) is another.
“I think it was Rick Warren who wrote a book — ‘The Purpose Driven Life.’ When I read that, I definitely felt that the military was my calling,” Kendrick said, adding, “This is what I’m supposed to be doing. I didn’t intend to, but it became clear this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
