Tim’s career on salt water began in uniform. Enlisting in the U.S. Navy as a Communications Specialist (Radioman), he served afloat with Destroyer Squadron 35 (DESRON 35), where he was twice named Sailor of the Year for 1988 — Communications Sailor of the Year and the squadron’s overall Sailor of the Year. In 1989 he deployed to the Seventh Fleet aboard USS HAROLD E. HOLT (FF-1074), and received a Letter of Commendation from Rear Admiral G. L. Chesbrough, Commander Naval Surface Group Western Pacific / CTF-73 / CTF-75, for sustained excellence in HF, UHF, and satellite communications supporting ship’s force, Task Group ships, supporting aircraft, and foreign navies during bilateral exercises and surveillance operations.

From January 1990 to January 1991 Petty Officer Brown served as a small-boat operator with Special Boat Unit Twenty-Six (SBU-26), operating Riverine Patrol Boat PBR-7021 in the Panama Canal and along the Panamanian coast. His duties — helmsman, radio operator, radar operator, gunner, and engineman — and a follow-on South America deployment training foreign Special Forces in riverine warfare gave him the practical hands on familiarity with vessel systems, navigation, and seamanship that still grounds his work today. He was honorably discharged on December 1, 1994, and is a recognized veteran of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).