“It’s been a ride,” said Lt. Cmdr. Terry Brown, who’s served in the Navy for 30 years with his twin brother Lt. Cmdr. Jerry Brown.
Jerry Brown is eight minutes older.
“Either I kicked him out or he beat me out,” Terry Brown said with a laugh.
The Browns enlisted in 1994 and have had the rare pleasure of serving next to one another for many stints throughout their careers. But their unique experience will soon end, with a March 1, 2025, retirement in the books.
After graduating from boot camp in 1994, the brothers transferred to Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, for hospital corpsman A school. They were enrolled in the “buddy program,” which allowed them to continue their tandem service and transfer to their first command together at Naval Hospital Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1995.
Two years later, however, their paths diverged, with Terry Brown beginning ophthalmic surgical technician C school in 1997 and Jerry Brown beginning physical therapy technician C school the following year.
Their paths didn’t cross again until 2004 when they were both accepted into the medical enlisted commissioning program to start careers as registered nurses. During the extended time apart, the two would call each other frequently to check in.
They were close growing up, and their bond remained strong during their military careers.
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They reunited in Portsmouth, Virginia, and became study buddies for their time at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, eventually graduating in 2007 with bachelor’s degrees in nursing.
Their time together continued a year later when they both attended Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated with master’s degrees in nursing leadership in health care systems in 2010.
“We took the same courses,” Jerry Brown said. “We always bounced off notes to each other, we’d sit together.”
When they weren’t studying, Jerry Brown said, they were hanging out with one another.
They even rose up the ranks at the same time.
On Sept. 1, 2017, they promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander.
Jerry Brown currently serves as the chief of the Trauma Medicine Branch at the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute on Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Terry Brown is a hospital corpsman basic program instructor at the Navy Medicine Training Support Center, which also resides on Fort Sam Houston.
Even as they wound down their careers, they found themselves on the same base, near one another like so many other times.
The brothers said they hope to work at the VA after they hang up their active-duty hats.
But most of all, they expressed gratitude for their careers.
“It’s been quite the humbling experience to see all the things that we’ve seen,” Jerry Brown said.
The brothers, who grew up farming in Livermore, Iowa, joined the Navy because they felt like they had something to give to their country, they said. They also recognized the opportunities the Navy would afford them — to travel the world and meet people, all while doing what they loved in the world of medicine.
They had some fun along the way, too.
Terry Brown was often mistaken for his brother over the years but would go along with it, pretending to be him for a few moments until revealing it was a joke.
Jerry Brown, on the other hand, received many students who were previously taught by his brother.
“They always think I’m ignoring them,” Jerry Brown said.
So he begins each class with a caveat.
“You may think you know me — you don’t,” Jerry Brown said.
Riley Ceder is an editorial fellow at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice and human interest stories. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the ongoing Abused by the Badge investigation.
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