Stephanie Brown

July 2025 Issue

by Edwina Hoyle
Photography (right) by Lindsay Gifford

A chance encounter on the Fourth of July in New York City brought Stephanie and JR Brown together. She had gone to see the fireworks where there were hundreds and hundreds of people. Wanting to get away from the huge crowds, she got a table in a restaurant, which was also very crowded. In a matter of minutes, JR appeared and asked if he could share her table. She said yes.

As Stephanie and JR sat together talking, they discovered they both shared connections to the Lowcountry. JR hails from Hilton Head Island, and Stephanie lived in Savannah while attending Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). JR had just completed his first deployment in the United States Marine Corps, and Stephanie had just graduated.

“It was a random chance that JR and I sat at the same table, and I had already planned a trip Bluffton. So, while on vacation there, I visited JR, and after that, our relationship took off.” They married less than a year later.

JR served in the Marine Corps for four years, followed by two years as a Blackwater contractor. He was deployed to several locations in Iraq, working with bomb-detecting dogs. He also trained dogs for service.

The couple eventually moved to upstate New York. However, they had no military friends there, and Stephanie found herself in a challenging situation. JR had a veteran friend who had committed suicide, and this weighed heavy on him, in addition to dealing with his own pain from the trauma. “He was battling his demons, and not in a good way. He was in a very dark place, and I was very pregnant with our first baby. This was a new experience for me with his worst days,” Stephanie said.

Stephanie further explained, “When a veteran comes home, nothing has really changed for the spouse and family, their environment has remained normal, but for the vet everything has changed. It was a real eye-opener for me. So many relationships end because some spouses say, ‘this isn’t what I signed up for.’ JR was non-communicative, but I knew he was in there, beyond what I could understand. He wasn’t handling pain well, but I believed it wasn’t irrational and destructive behavior. He was someone dealing with pain; he was trying to mask his troubles.”

During that period, Stephanie actually had to wrestle a gun away from JR to stop him from committing suicide. “JR went to the VA and had weekly visits,” she said. “They put him on so many medications—one so he wouldn’t remember his dreams; one to sleep; one to wake up. This didn’t improve anything; the pills were just masking. He was in a fog. Overall, it was a Band-Aid, which had to get bigger and bigger as his problems increased. We found one civilian doctor, who was also a veteran who JR could talk with. The doc told him to talk about it, and JR refused. He had to get his heart and head together to open up and talk about it.”

The couple moved to Bluffton in 2018. The following year, JR lost five military friends to suicide.

JR had trained service dogs in the Marine Corps, and had an opportunity to work for a non-profit organization in Utah that trained dogs and veterans. After two weeklong trips to Utah, he came home renewed, as he had seen positive changes with the other veterans in this program. He saw how veterans benefitted from this experience of being active outdoors with
other veterans.

Stephanie said, “Veterans feel ignored and left behind. We have to make a healing experience for the whole family, encourage participation, and build a community to lean on. It shouldn’t be so hard for veterans who have fight to get their benefits and support. One person can see a need and help fulfill that need.”

And that’s just what JR and Stephanie did. They now host veterans and first responders for plenty of outdoor activities, and more importantly, support from other veterans, along with campfires, and Coffee and Camaraderie every Saturday morning. Spouses and children come as well and more than 100 people attend
each week.

They found a piece of property in Ridgeland that had 268 acres and the bones to create their vision—Operation Patriot FOB (Forward Operating Base). “It’s a target-rich environment here with all the vets and first responders,” she said. “Suicides continue to fuel our fire.” The OPFOB property has a small sporting clay cottage, a 5,000 square foot barn for events, ponds for fishing, and plenty of room
to grow.

The Brown’s are proud of the successes they’ve seen come to fruition through their vision. OPFOB has officially become a place to recover, heal and have others with similar experiences to lean on. It’s really helped JR, too. He is healing, being more present and fully engaged in this program the two of them have built to help veterans and first responders. He now openly shares his story and talks about his demons to help others. And together, they are both making an impact that is saving lives.

Up Close:
• Stephanie and JR have two daughters: Isabella,11; and Elliana, 9. “I encourage involvement with my kids. I teach them the importance of serving others, to make some noise and help. Every Saturday they socialize with the vets and give plenty of hugs.”

• Stephanie studied graphic design at SCAD and is the marketing and design expert for OPFOB’s website and graphics.

• Their program also works with local golf courses and boat captains to offer golf, boating, and offshore fishing to the veteran and first responder guests at OPFOB.

• For more information about Operations Patriots FOB and the positive difference it is making, please visit www.opfob.org