Brent Jackson is a 1997 graduate of Grand Haven High School. He is also a graduate of Kalamazoo College (Bachelor of Arts in political science) and University of San Diego (Master of Science in global leadership).
Jackson relieved Cmdr. Victor Sheldon, from West Lafayette, Indiana, as commanding officer of the Chung-Hoon, according to the Grand Haven Tribune.
A change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition that allows "all hands," or all command members, to witness the formal transfer of command from one officer to another.
Jackson most recently served as the Maritime Operations Center deputy director at the U.S. 3rd Fleet in San Diego. He also previously served as executive officer of the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay.
At sea, Jackson completed his first division officer tour aboard a guided missile destroyer, the USS Russell, as the strike officer in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His second division officer tour was on the USS Ford, serving as the navigator and non-compliant visit, board, search and seizure boarding officer. The Ford is a guided missile frigate based out of Everett, Washington.
Jackson completed his department head tours as operations officer aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Sterett, based in San Diego; and a guided missile cruiser USS Chosin, at which time was based in Pearl Harbor.
Following his second department head tour, Jackson served as the flag secretary for the commander, Carrier Strike Group One Staff, whose flag ship was the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier based out of Coronado, California. His most recent sea tour was as the executive officer of the Mobile Bay.
On shore, Jackson served as the Cruise Missile Division officer at Afloat Training Group San Diego, serving as the certifying cruise missile tactical qualification officer for ATG Pacific. He also completed a seven-month Individual Augment while deployed to U.S. Central Command (Forward) in Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
From 2014-15, he served as the executive assistant to the commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet, serving as the admiral’s primary advisor. His last shore tour was as Maritime Operations Center deputy director at U.S. 3rd Fleet in San Diego.
Jackson has deployed overseas six times so far in his career, and is about to embark on lucky No. 7 this fall, when the Chung-Hoon will deploy with Carrier Strike Group 3. Jackson has also been stationed overseas for a year, participating in Operation Inherent Resolve.
This story originally appeared on the Grand Haven Tribune.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.
