REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama (June 9, 2023) – May 7, 2008, is a day Maj. Brian Brennan will never forget. Brennan, who was then a first lieutenant, was on patrol with the 101st Airborne Division’s 506th Infantry Regiment in Zambar, Afghanistan, when his Humvee was hit by a 44-pound improvised explosive device.
He suffered a traumatic brain injury, lost his lower legs, and was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland where he was in a coma for 23 days with a bleak prognosis. He failed to respond in any way when his family or friends talked to him. Brennan laid there, unresponsive. On the 23rd day, Brennan was visited by then Gen. David Petraeus, who was the commander in chief of U.S. Central Command and a veteran of the 101st Airborne Division. Although his initial words of encouragement failed to produce any signs of life from Brennan, Petraeus then called out the battle cry for the 506th, "One, two, three, CURRAHEE!” Brennan stirred and attempted to sit up in bed.
“I thought it was a dream and wondered why General Petraeus was visiting me in my bunk in Afghanistan,” Brennan said. “When I hear ‘Curahee’ today, I get chills. I’ll always get chills for my entire life. Curahee is a Cherokee word meaning ‘stands alone,’ and hearing that brought me back. I just want to continue to give back to my Army.”
Giving back is something Brennan has been undertaking for the Army and nation since he completed his rehabilitation from his wounds. The 408th Contracting Support Brigade acquisition officer and double-leg amputee spoke to the 44 field-grade officers and faculty of the Command and General Staff Officer Course Redstone Arsenal Satellite Campus May 17 here.
The 2018 Command and General Staff Officer Course graduate spoke to the current class about resiliency, teamwork, overcoming obstacles and adversity, lessons learned from serving in a joint assignment, and how to maintain a positive attitude while going through challenges.
“It’s my contribution to take the lessons I have learned to help Soldiers or organizations move forward to accomplish great things,” said the native of Howell, New Jersey. “What I try to pass on to junior officers is to start thinking ‘big picture.’ There are times when you have to think tactically and times to think strategically, and you have to distinguish between the two. This is really what I hope I can help them determine.”
After his medical recovery, Brennan served as an experimentation officer for U.S. Special Operations Command, then was an operations officer and company executive officer for the 198th Infantry Training Brigade. Next, he served as the headquarters and headquarters company commander for the Maneuver Center of Excellence. Brennan then became an assistant product manager for Ground Soldier Systems and the Soldier Enhancement Program prior to rejoining Special Operations Command as the deputy program manager, where he and his team worked on the Army Talos weaponized suit as well as the military’s Advanced Sniper System.
“Before I worked in contracting, I worked in special operations and had to understand the basic fundamentals of contracting,” Brennan said. “Taking what I learned into the contracting world when dealing with different vendors, I was able to use those lessons so I could be an azimuth test for my organization. In contracting, you have to work with people and cultivate relationships, and my experiences as an Infantryman and program manager were very beneficial. My time doing the military decision-making process and the joint planning process were critical to being able to lead the effort in how the 408th CSB will be structured in the next five years.”
The 408th CSB provides operational contracting support to U.S. Army Central as the lead contracting service throughout Southwest Asia. The brigade members work with mission partners to enable predictive acquisition requirements and deploys contracting assets in support of the USARCENT mission. It is headquartered at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
“Being in the 408th and identifying how Army Contracting Command touches every part of the world gets you to really think on the operational level,” Brennan said. “I’m no longer looking at things at the tactical level. I’ve changed my whole concept. Until I got to ACC and the 408th, I never thought that way. You have to think about the upper level of command in contracting. Being at the 408th benefitted me professionally and personally.”
“Major Brennan is the epitome of resilience,” said Col. Justin DeArmond, the 408th CSB commander. “While with the 408th CSB, he has had several work challenges that he overcame with tenacity and professionalism. His can-do attitude is contagious, and he has exceeded all expectations. He is a caring and compassionate leader with incredible presence, character and competence. Brian’s tireless efforts have been indispensable to the brigade’s ability in providing acquisition excellence to our mission partners.”
Lt. Col. Jeff Gilberg, the chief of the Defense Command Assistance Program based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was Brennan’s classmate when they went through the Command and General Staff Officer Course. “One of the things I love about Brian is that despite the challenges he has to encounter every single day, he is one of the most resilient people that I know. Brian really embodies the word ‘resilience.’ He comes to work every day with a smile on his face and brings humor to whatever conversation he is having.”
Fostering resilience is part of the Brennan family story. Today he walks with prosthetic legs, one starting below the knee and the other above the left knee. His wife, Stephane, is a two-time Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer survivor. Brian and Stephane have a daughter.
The Brennan family also plans to help as many as they can. Stephane continues to work as a pediatric hematology oncology nurse, and the Brennan Stands Alone Foundation created by the Brennan family shortly after his injury helps severely injured service members. The nonprofit organization eases the burden of everyday stresses that affect those injured in the line of duty so that they may focus on their treatment and rehabilitation to recuperate as quickly as possible.
Next, Brennan will work for Siemens as he trains with industry to learn cybersecurity and intellectual property. He will be pinning on the lieutenant colonel rank this fall. Looking back at his injury isn’t something Brennan will do in the future.
“My mindset is (the injury) is in the past,” Brennan added. “It is something that made me who I am today. I can take the lessons learned from that and move forward. I’m not letting that hold me back. I’m not looking back because that’s not the direction I’m moving. I speak to groups with my lessons learned to try to get them to do things that are beneficial. What is the point of me having these experiences if I can’t pass them on and potentially positively affecting an individual or organization? There’s no reason for me to have an experience if I don’t do anything with it.”
About Army Contracting Command
The Army Contracting Command is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. From food and clothing to bullets and bombs; from tanks and trucks to boats and aircraft; from Soldiers' weapons to the installations where they work and live with their families, ACC ensures Soldiers have what they need to be successful. As the Army's principal buying agent, ACC supports Army readiness and modernization by using best practices and expert-level oversight to provide warfighters with premier contracting support. The command accomplishes its global operational missions with a professional workforce of Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, foreign local nationals and contractors at more than 100 locations worldwide.
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