Editor’s note: Some information in this story was originally published in July 2022.
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford County native Brian Kendrick, who was serving as the command senior enlisted leader of the Florida National Guard, was recently selected to become the 14th command sergeant major of the Army National Guard.
“Young Staff Sgt. Kendrick, Sgt. First Class Kendrick and even young Sgt. Maj. Kendrick certainly never saw anything like this being possible,” the 1989 Bradford High School graduate said. “It’s a very humbling experience. I’m just extremely honored to have the opportunity.”
Kendrick will replace Sgt. Maj. John Raines, who was selected to be senior enlisted advisor of National Guard Bureau. Raines had been in the position of command sergeant major since 2022.
Since early December, Kendrick’s life has been moving fast, as he prepares to transition to his new role and move to Arlington, Virginia. He’s already had to take part in events in our nation’s capital as the result of Raines already working in his new role.
“I found out the first week in December that I had been selected,” Kendrick said. “It’s been a whirlwind ever since.”
Kendrick, with encouragement from people he worked with, applied for the position. He received a call before Thanksgiving notifying him that Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, the director of the Army National Guard, wanted to interview him.
“We kind of shortened our Thanksgiving holiday plans,” Kendrick said. “I flew up to D.C., put on my dress uniform and interviewed with Gen. Stubbs. About a week later — the first part of December — he let me know that he’d like to offer me the position. I told him I was honored and would be excited to have the opportunity to work on behalf of our soldiers and their families.”
Kendrick and his wife, Tracey, will live in a residence at Fort McNair. Kendrick’s office will be at the Army National Guard Readiness Center, which he described as “just a stone’s throw from The Pentagon.”
The new position will allow Kendrick to continue to do some of the same things he was doing as Florida’s command senior enlisted leader. The difference is that he’ll perform those duties while serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
It has been quite a journey for Kendrick, who initially had no thoughts of military service, even though his father, Jim, is an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
‘A great deal’
Kendrick, who participated in football and weightlifting at BHS, said he reached that point in his life where he asked himself, “What am I going to do?” He wanted to go to college, but he didn’t know how he was 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 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.
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 time 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.
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.
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.
In May 2022, Kendrick became the state’s senior enlisted leader, serving in that role until the change-of-command ceremony on Jan. 24 at St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine. Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Sweat is Florida’s new command senior enlisted leader.
Ready for new role
If Kendrick wants any advice on his new position, all he has to do is call his predecessor, who’s a friend of his.
“Senior Enlisted Advisor Raines is a good friend, someone who’s been a coach and a mentor for me for many years,” Kendrick said. “I am incredibly happy that he has not retired. Instead, he just fleeted up to that next position. I don’t have to feel guilty at all about picking up the phone and picking his brain and getting advice on how he may have handled a particular challenge.”
Whatever the challenge, Kendrick would tell you the Florida National Guard has prepared him to meet it. In fact, he believes his involvement in the Florida National Guard played a part in him getting to interview for the Army National Guard’s command sergeant major position.
“The Florida National Guard has a strong reputation nationally,” Kendrick said, adding, “Their reputation for being right, ready and relevant is known throughout the nation. They demonstrate on a daily basis the National Guard’s motto of ‘Always ready, always there.’”
If the Florida National Guard’s reputation helped land the interview, the many people in Kendrick’s life — inside and outside of the Guard — helped him become someone ready to step into the role of Army National Guard command sergeant major.
“I didn’t get here by myself,” he said. “I’m a product of a lot of coaching and mentorship from folks throughout my career who were willing to invest in me and take that young boy from Bradford County and put him in a position where he could compete and then serve on the national stage.
“I’m just incredibly blessed and thankful.”
