Houston native Kori M. Brown served in the military for 13 years. However, his time did not focus just on one branch, but two – the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.
“I enlisted in 2000 mainly because it was a family thing,” Brown said. “My dad is a Marine, and I’ve got cousins that are Marines. It seemed like the right time to do it. I’ve always been a server of people.”
Brown spent 2000-04 serving in the Marines, spending his first two years of active duty stationed in Washington D.C. on the Silent Drill Platoon. When the September 11 attacks occurred, he said he took a scout sniper course and joined a sniper platoon in Hawaii.
“After that, I started deploying,” Brown said. “I was one of the first 10-15 people in Iraq in 2003. I was in Fallujah for a long time. I got out of the Marines in 2004, and after a couple of months, I decided to join the Army. I did a total of seven deployments with the 3rd Special Forces Group.”
While in Hawaii, Brown said he met his wife, Aleasha, who was also on active duty and served in the U.S. Army from 2000-04. The dual military couple now have four children – three boys (18, 15 and 13 years old) and one girl (9 years old).
“The most important thing to me in life now is my family,” Brown said proudly. “That’s all it’s about. Ensuring that they are in the best positions to succeed in life.”
After both Brown and his wife retired from the military, he said the family bought an RV, got rid of their belongings and went on the road around the U.S. doing missionary work everywhere they stopped.
“We wanted to show the kids the country,” he said. “Everywhere we stopped, we found somewhere we could contribute our time and serve others. We went from Tennessee to Texas, from Texas to Florida, from Florida to California, and then back to Texas.”
When it comes to a favorite Dynamo memory, Brown said that experience came recently at an event off the pitch.
“We volunteered at Shell Energy Stadium for Operation Homefront’s annual Back-to-School Brigade that the Club hosted, and defender Tate Schmitt hung out with our family and helped us load backpacks the entire time,” he said.
Brown said he is a Houston Dynamo FC fan just like he supports every other sports organization in the city. He enjoys soccer because it’s a sport that nobody can succeed in on their own.
“The biggest thing that I could take from my time in the service is the comradery and the team building part of it,” Brown said. “Having to rely on somebody else in difficult times and seeing it through. It helped me grow up.”
The father of four has never been to Shell Energy Stadium for a match and said he is looking forward to taking in the atmosphere in a unique venue to others around the city.
