As an incoming freshman at Gateway High School, Jarvis Brown joined the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Although he initially thought of owning his own business one day, the structure, leadership training and mentorship provided by ROTC diverted him.
“It was the structure of the military that appealed to me. I did a lot of leadership activities while I was in high school, and I found that it was hard,” Brown said. “I guess every leader would say that it is hard to lead people, especially when you don’t have that structure.”
The civilian world is more relaxed, he said, and they are not particularly obligated to listen to you.
“It’s harder to get things done and I love to get things done, and I found with the Air Force the structure that they have is easier to get things accomplished,” Brown said.
“People who sign up know what they are signing up for – they are obligated to listen to their peers; they are obligated to listen to their commanders. I wanted to strive to be a commander who can learn and be knowledgeable and then give direction.”
Brown learned from a number of strong mentors, including Philip Deitch, a local human rights activist who is like an uncle to him, and ROTC instructor and retired Air Force Chief Thomas Williams.
“He’s the one that really got me inspired,” Brown said of Williams. When he saw the youth was making great grades and enjoying Air Force ROTC, he suggested that he apply for the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Brown was accepted into academy after graduating from Gateway in 2011. Five years later, in 2016, he became Lieutenant Jarvis Brown upon graduation.
Although his adopted father, Neil Westbrooks, was in the U.S. Marines, Brown said he never spoke to him about his military experiences, until he became military as well.
“It was after I was accepted into the Air Force Academy that he then started talking to me,” Brown said. “And I think he did that strategically in order to not persuade me one way or the other.”
Over the recent holidays, Brown spent five days in St. Louis connecting with family and friends before heading to San Angelo, Texas, where he is training to become an intelligence officer. He will be there for six months, then on to his next assignment.
“I’ll be headed to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, working side-by-side with the CIA and other three-letter, four-letter, five-letter agencies,” Brown said.
While studying at the academy, Brown came home to St. Louis to visit his old high school twice to speak to students. He emphasized to them that strong mentorship provided the direction he needed.
“I think a lot of people in my generation now are shying away from the many mentors who are out there,” Brown said. “I had Chief Williams and I had a colonel who was in the ROTC program. There were many mentors along the way that I particularly chose to just sit down for hours and hours to listen to and to take their advice and follow through with that advice. And it worked out for me.”
