May 12, 2021
 |
| COL (R) Fredrick Brown |
ÐÓ°É Public Schools announced COL (R) Fredrick Brown has been named Director of the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) in JPS. He replaces COL (R) Paul Willis who announced his retirement after serving in that role for the last 17 years. Brown previously served as the Senior Army Instructor at Callaway High School.
A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Brown enlisted in the 95th Infantry Army Reserve Corps immediately after high school. Upon completion of ROTC as a Distinguished Military Graduate, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Northeast Louisiana University. His military education includes courses in Ordnance Officer Basic and Advanced, Logistics Management, Air Assault, and Support Operations. Additionally, he earned a Master of Military Art and Science degree through the Army Command and General Staff College.
Brown's military assignments have included appointments to the Pentagon as a Division Chief for the Logistics Operation Center and Chief of Staff for the 13th Expeditionary Command. He served on the command staff during two overseas deployments — as Battalion Commander in Wiesbaden, Germany during Operation Iraqi Freedom and as Branch Chief of Logistics Support over U.S. European Command during Operation Enduring Freedom. During an illustrious 30-plus year military career, Brown was awarded a number of medals and service badges, including the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal.
Brown will lead one of the largest and most accomplished JROTC programs in the state with more than 1,800 cadets enrolled in units at all seven JPS high schools and one Junior Cadet Corps housed at the Powell Middle School Leadership Academy.