Two Brunswick County natives are currently serving in the US Navy. They are Petty Officer 1st Class Brooke DeMonbreun and Boatswain Tristen Honeycutt, according to a news release from the US Navy’s Office of Community Advancement.

Warrant Officer DeMonbreun of Southport is assigned to Bravo Expeditionary Medical Center, Detachment Twentynine Palms, California.

DeMonbreun graduated from South Brunswick High School in 2017 and joined the Navy on November 5, 2017.

“Growing up I learned the value of hard work, resilience and the importance of community,” DeMonbreun said. “These lessons continued to guide me in the Navy.”

DeMonbreun now serves as a member of the hospital corps.

More: How early college work helped prepare a Brunswick native for the Navy

“I joined the Navy to serve a purpose greater than myself,” DeMonbreun said. “I also wanted to challenge my limits and protect the freedoms I believe in while building a future I could be proud of.”

The Bravo Expeditionary Medical Unit is a 150-bed unit that can be deployed in support of various combat operations. This year it was deployed in support of Operation Keen Sword and integrated with the Japan Self-Defense Forces, in which DeMonbreun participated.

Operation Keen Sword is a biennial exercise that began in 1986 to increase combat readiness and improve the working relationship between US and Japanese forces. U.S. Marines and counterparts treated Japanese Marines and troops with simulated burns, explosions and gunshot wounds from an imaginary battle.

DeMonbreun’s proudest achievement was earning a Surface Warfare Specialist insignia while enlisted aboard his last ship, the USS Stethem.

“Serving in the Navy means dedicating myself to a purpose greater than myself and making a positive impact on the lives of others through my role as a hospital corpsman,” DeMonbreun said.

DeMonbreun is grateful to others for helping make her career in the Navy possible.

“I would like to thank my mom and dad, Candace Hass and Joel DeMonbreun for always pushing me,” added DeMonbreun. “I also want to thank my sister, Ariel Bernaro. She’s also in the Navy and she’s my rock.”

Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Tristen Honeycutt, of Winnabow, is assigned to the deck department aboard the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

According to the release, USS Gerald R. Ford, the flagship of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, is currently underway in the US 2nd Fleet area of ​​operations conducting advanced surface warfare tactical training (SWATT ).

SWATT is the first advanced tactical training exercise of surface forces that increases combat capability and tactical proficiency in all domains.

This article originally appeared on the Wilmington StarNews: Two natives of Brunswick County, NC, are serving in the US Navy