Brent Patterson

Sergeant, U.S. Army
Associates, Frederick Community College & Bachelor of Science Materials Engineering with minor in Physics, Frostburg State University

Shortly after graduating from high school, Brent enlisted into the Army as an infantryman and was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana where he deployed just two short months out of basic training to Baghdad, Iraq for 15 months from November 2007 to January 2009, and later to Logar Province, Afghanistan for 12 months from October 2010 to October 2011 on a separate deployment with the same unit.

While based in Charkh, Afghanistan, Bren was wounded on three separate occasions.  In December 2010, his team established a hasty Traffic Control Point (TCP) to disrupt Taliban movement when his squad was attacked with grenades and small arms fire and he was struck with multiple shrapnel fragments from two grenades.

Later, in July 2011, Brent entered to clear a small, abandoned building when it was brought down by a large IED on the rear wall of the building less than ten feet from his location.  Brent received multiple lacerations and a severe concussion but continued to deploy with his platoon after a short recovery. On his first mission back out, two days after returning from 2 weeks of treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury from the second incident, Brent was hit directly in the back with one grenade, which ultimately removed him from the deployment on August 5, 2011.  This time Brent was significantly injured by multiple shrapnel wounds that embedded deep in his upper back and underwent surgery and months of physical therapy to regain movement and strength in both arms. Brent was awarded three purple hearts for each of these separate occurrences.

After leaving the service in August 2012, Brent enrolled in community college shortly after to begin his educational pursuits and learned about Sentinels of Freedom while finishing up his associates degree and preparing to transfer to Frostburg University where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering with a minor in Physics, graduating with honors. During his time with Sentinels of Freedom, Brent received consistent support and guidance allowed him to stay the course and excel in his studies. Sof provided funding to assist with moving costs for his transfer to Frostburg State University and ensured he had the proper clothing to put his best foot forward in interviews and dinners with prospective networking opportunities. He completed a successful capstone project that was presented at the Materials Science Convention in Ohio and had his military service recognized in congressional record. Brent also represented SoF’s slogan of “Veterans Never Stop Serving” by volunteering his time in his local community with Toys for Tots, Hospice, Relay for Life and earned the Pillar of the Community award through his educational institution.

Following graduation, Brent received a full-time offer from Spectral Dynamics as an Engineer, the company he was able to intern at during his studies. Shortly after, he accepted a position in Propulsion at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory with Northrop Grumman, where advances warfighter support by testing solid rocket motors, fulfilling a goal to aid in the development of specialized military equipment after witnessing the loss of life of those who were his brothers in the line of duty.

“Thanks to Sentinels’ of Freedom’s support, I’m a much better person than I ever thought I would be. I never realized I could accomplish so much in such a small amount of time…I was able to enjoy my education and focus on the many important aspects of my degree…I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, not only on the battle field, but as a college graduate.”