Coeur d'Alene High grad serves aboard one of world's largest warships

NORFOLK — Petty Officer 3rd Class Jayden Brown, from Coeur d’Alene, serves aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier operating out of Norfolk, Va.

Brown graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 2023 and is working on an associate degree in health sciences through Western Governors University.

The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in his hometown.

“The lessons I carried with me from home are things like being adaptable, having an open mind to new experiences and being willing to work hard and think creatively,” Brown said. “It’s helped me because I’m able to document naval events and create products that are not only creative but display the Navy in a positive way.”

Brown joined the Navy two years ago. Today, he serves as a mass communication specialist.

“I joined the Navy to pay for college and to see parts of the world I hadn’t seen yet,” Brown said. “I picked this job to be a photographer to see the interesting parts of the Navy. I was also inspired by my family, my uncle and my grandpa, who served in the Navy.”

Commissioned in 2009, the aircraft carrier is named for George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and a former naval aviator. The ship was the first aircraft carrier to have its namesake participate in its christening.

Aircraft carriers are the centerpiece of America’s naval forces. For more than 100 years, they have projected power, sustained sea control, bolstered deterrence, provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and maintained enduring commitments worldwide.

The Navy’s aircraft carriers are among the largest warships in the world. Bush is longer than three football fields at 1,092 feet. The ship is 252 feet wide and weighs more than 100,000 tons. More than 5,000 sailors serve aboard these self-contained mobile airports.

According to Navy officials, aircraft carriers are versatile and have unique mission capabilities that make them a more strategic asset for the Navy than fixed-site bases. They are often the first response in a global crisis because of their ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere in the world’s oceans. In addition, no other weapon system can deploy and operate forward with a full-sized aircraft carrier’s speed, endurance, agility and combat capability of its air wing.

The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.

According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation, and for 250 years, its warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”

With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and internet access relying on the security of undersea fiber-optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.

Brown has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.

“I have a lot of things to be proud of. I got meritoriously promoted to petty officer third class. I graduated from Air Crew School, and I graduated from Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training," Brown said. "Those are the most interesting things I’ve done in my career. Getting through that means I get to do the one part of my job I enjoy the most — flying.”

Brown serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.

“Serving in the Navy means I have an opportunity to build a foundation for a future career,” Brown said.

Brown is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.

“I want to thank my mom,” he added. “She was a very influential figure growing up.”