Orlando with his ambitious daughter, Leah
Through the magic of Facebook, I connected recently with a shipmate who now lives in North Carolina. Orlando Brown and I served together in OZ Division on the USS Elliot (DD-967) from 1989 until 1992 (though he left a few months before I did). While I served only one enlistment, Orlando stayed in to retire as a Chief Petty Officer.
As division mates we went through a lot together, including a few questionable division officers and division chiefs. You get to know people really well when you’re around them almost constantly for three years. He and the other shipmates in our division are like brothers to me. Always will be.
Orlando lives near Creedmoor and suggested we get together, so today we met at Tyler’s Taproom in Raleigh (it’s very first day). It was a great hour of catching up, trading stories on the whereabouts of our other shipmates, and talking about the job market. Orlando recently bailed out of the floundering U.S. Post Office and is looking for work in Raleigh. He will soon have a degree in human resources.
Should you know of anyone looking for a sharp, squared away guy with the utmost integrity, Orlando’s your man. I’m looking forward to having him around a lot more often!