"We will be forever linked," jokes Staff Sergeant Kenneth J. Brown, flashing a smile in the direction of one of his medics. He refers to the bond he and Specialist Dustin J. Adams, a 48th Brigade Combat Team field medic attached to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry Regiment share. Brown has known Adams since he was 16 years old.

"It is one of the most hideous moments of my life!" Adams declares as he recalls the phone call that made him rethink his decision to be a combat medic for the Georgia Army National Guard.


"There is no such thing as a break between missions, there's always paperwork." Adams is assigned to 1st Bn., 118th FA as a combat medic attached to D Co., 3rd Bn., 172nd Inf. Regt., 48th BCT. (Photo by Spc. Tracy J. Smith, 48th BCT PAO)

Brown is the platoon sergeant for 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment’s medical platoon but it is in his other life, as he calls it, that he has had the most satisfaction. He prepares young men and women who have gotten off the straight and narrow to be contributors. As a drill sergeant at the Youth Challenge Academy at Fort Stewart, Ga., he gets a unique opportunity to positively influence young people.

"When Adams came to the (Youth Challenge) program he was mouthy. I’m sure he was wondering, ‘what am I doing here?’ and got smoked on a regular basis," Brown explained.

That question is consistent with each cadet who volunteers for the program because it is hard corps for the first two weeks.

"If you lose them then you lose them for the remainder of the 22 week period, so I make sure I stress the five S’s to them...." Brown is interrupted as Adams finishes the mantra for self-sufficiency instilled in each cadet. "Self confidence, self integrity, self discipline, self respect and self initiative." Again, a laugh between the two unlikely friends.

"I was a spoiled kid," Adams, a native of Savannah, Ga. recounted. "I skipped school, then wrecked my car and just quit school."

One of the prerequisites for the program is that the potential candidate is a high school drop out.

"The five S’s are printed outside the latrine door at the school," Adams says rolling his eyes. "When we were getting smoked you had to recite them..."

"...and years later you remember them," a knowing smile penetrated the rough edges of Adams’ mentor.

The first days at the program dwindled and the journey to taking charge of his life became more bearable as Adams, in his own words, "was becoming a man."

"The thought that put me at ease the most is that I would never see this guy again," Adams recalls expounding on graduation day.

Now it was time to make decisions about his life. He knew school was in his future but money for college was a concern. Eventually Adams decided to join the Georgia Army National Guard.

"I’m at Ft. Sam Houston (Tx.) going through combat medics’ school and called back to the Youth Challenge cadre to let them know," said Adams. "I told them I was assigned to a field artillery unit in Georgia as a medic."

It was then he discovered Brown would be his platoon sergeant.

"I almost quit the school!"


"The world is a small place," Staff Sgt. Kenneth J. Brown, (left), is fast to remind Spc. Dustin J. Adams. Brown is medical platoon sergeant 1st Bn., 118th FA Regt., 48th BCT. Brown mentored Adams in the Youth Challenge program at Ft. Stewart, Ga. Adams is now a combat medic serving with D. Co., 3rd Bn., 172nd Inf. Regt. under 118th FA in Al Asad, Iraq. (Photo by Spc. Tracy J. Smith, 48th BCT PAO)

Adams completed the course and attended Armstrong College in Savannah. He was about to transfer to the University of Georgia in Athens when he was mobilized with the 48th BCT.

"I reported to Ft. Stewart for training and the 1st Sergeant (Ernest Oliver, HSB, 118th FA) said he would introduce me to my platoon leader," Adams shakes his head and recalls what came next. "I hear footsteps behind me and 1st Sgt. says, ‘here he is now,’ and I hear this voice that won’t go away. Like I said it was one of the most hideous moments of my life."

"See, God has a sense of humor," Brown added.

The program opens the door for a future as opposed to one behind bars. The Fort Stewart Youth Challenge program is the original model for the nationwide program that now covers 37 states and Adams is one of its graduates on his way to becoming a success if he can realize the need for authority and self-reliance.

"I haven’t given up on him yet," Brown says. "And I don’t plan on it."

Adams admits that he was a kid when he went into the Youth Challenge program. When he completed the program, he was given the tools to better prepare for his future as a businessperson and entrepreneur. In Iraq, he relies on those with more experience.

"Youth challenge didn’t prepare me for the experience (in Iraq)," Adams states. He and Brown exchange knowing glances. The young man from Savannah has seen much in the months he has served with company D, 3rd Bn, 172nd. Inf. Regt. He has handled his duties as a medic with a maturity not even he realized he could possess.

"If there weren’t sergeants like Staff Sgt. Brown or Sgt. (1st Class Nick) Peppe, (3rd platoon sergeant) out there you wouldn’t try. They enforce the standard."

Story & Photos by Spc. Tracy J. Smith, 48th BCT PAO

This story originally appeared in the Blackanthem.com military news.