27-Year Veteran to Take Care of Troops’

By U.S. Army Sgt. Jared Zabaldo

Command Sgt. Maj. Claudio R. Brown (left), the Office of Security Transition / Multinational Security Transition Command – Iraq’s new senior enlisted adviser, listens to a Marine and an airman in the hallways of the U.S. Embassy Annex. U.S. Army.

One of the Office of Security Transition’s most recent additions is a 27-year Marine Corps veteran bent on taking care of the enlisted personnel who are assisting the Iraqi government train, mentor and equip its armed forces.

Fresh from the Marine Corps’ 4th Combat Engineer Battalion in Baltimore, Md., Command Sgt. Maj. Claudio R. Brown, the Office of Security Transition / Multinational Security Transition Command – Iraq’s new senior enlisted adviser, takes the reins from Marine Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Bruce Zelaya. His mission is simple: look out for the organization’s enlisted personnel.

My main focus right now, Brown said, from his quaint second floor office overlooking the temporary offices of the command, is taking care of the well being of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, and sailors in this command. Period. That’s my main focus.

We’ve got to take care of the soldiers’ well-being, Brown said. That’s the bottom line. Soldiers win the war.

Indeed the concept does seem particularly important to the 48-year-old, married father of two both daughters and his track record implies he knows what he’s talking about.

Brown, an active-duty Marine, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is the veteran of many deployments, including prior service in the theater during Operation Desert Storm. As the top non-commissioned officer in the unit, he reports directly to its commander, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus. And he knows what that means. It means getting out to the troops.

I am in the process now of starting to visit the various camps where these soldiers to use a general term are located, continued Brown.

But I can say one thing, he said. Taking care of the soldiers and getting a feel for the command is an ongoing process. It’s keeping your finger on the pulse. The ultimate goal is keeping the pulse, he said.

In that regard, Brown will begin by spending time with adviser support team members at the Taji Military Training Base north of Baghdad to be followed up with visits to all the various outposts in the command.

Pulled from his billet with the Marine engineer unit where he works with Marine reservists, although on active duty, in a training, deployment and mobilization capacity Brown was only slated for assignment along with three other Marine Corps command sergeants major. It wasn’t until later that he was assigned to the Office of Security Transition / Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq slot as the senior enlisted adviser for Petraeus. His instructions to the new arrival were simple.

My in-brief with the CG,’ he gave me his philosophical guidance and his thoughts, Brown said. But basically he told me to go about and do those things that sergeants major do. Find what’s broke and fix it. Be a doer.

Brown has been all over the world serving in the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, Caribbean, as well as stations in Okinawa, Japan and all over the United States including assignments in all four Marine Corps divisions as an infantryman and it’s paid its dividends.

The infantry background is a good one, Brown said, because I’ve been deployed many times.

It prepared me to get on the road and see people, Brown said, which is exactly what I’ll be doing.

One thing he hadn’t seen before the tour came across his desk, however, was Iraq. Despite his deployments to the theater, he had only stopped short of the Iraqi border.

In Operation Desert Storm, Brown, attached to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, stopped just short of Kuwaiti International Airport before entering the country. This time around, he only spent a day in Kuwait before moving onto Baghdad, July 20, and the job ahead.

The command here is moving in the right direction, Brown said. I would just like to see that we continue on that path and that all the hard work that these soldiers are putting in will continue to pay off.

When I leave here, Brown said, I’d like to know that things are stabilized.

To do this, from his billet, that means taking care of the details of life for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and other Coalition personnel putting their lives on the line in the assistance effort.

But that doesn’t mean babying them, Brown said, quick to clarify. You basically ensure that they have the proper training. Proper gear. Proper equipment. That they have situational awareness. That they’re getting their mail on time and that where they bed down at night is relatively safe.

So when I say taking care of soldiers,’ that’s what I mean, Brown said. My only duty and responsibility for the time I will be here is to take care of their needs.

The implication is important, and the boots on the ground know what this means.

It’s reassuring and motivating to know the sergeant major is always looking out for the best interest and well being of all the enlisted soldiers under his command, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Patterson said. Patterson works in the command’s operations section.

It’s easier to follow when true leaders are in front, he added.

And to be sure, Brown and his 27 years of service through the enlisted ranks are committed to the mission.

We owe no less for the men and women who serve our unit,’ Brown said, quoting an anonymous slug-line he feels particularly close to.

Trust me, he said, we’re going to have soldiers who are going to be motivated to stay, work, extend, whatever. That’s what that means.

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