The Brown Water Navy explained by Tennessee sailor

Yahoo

24-05-2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Petty Officer First Class Evan Hammonds joined the Navy 15 years ago after leaving Kingsport, Tennessee. He has become a part of the Brown Water Navy.
'Traditionally, what you'll have is Blue Water Navy, which are the big ships like carriers, destroyers, and things, and then you have the Amphib Navy, which is the Brown Water Navy because we operate in that gray area in between,' said Hammonds.
Part of the job is operating Amphib boats which are used to transport marines and sailors from land to sea.
'Well, traditionally amphibious landings, amphibians reside in both land and water, so naturally because we're both land and water, we take the marines and put them ashore, so we're amphibious in nature.'
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They not only serve the military but also civilians when there is a natural disaster.
'We'll go down range to a hurricane-affected area or a natural disaster area and we'll do humanitarian aid: loading, unloading medical supplies, actual supplies, food, water, things of that nature,' explained Hammonds.
He also explained that, as a diesel mechanic, he understands the importance of safety if something goes wrong aboard the boat. The crew has to be their own firefighters because emergency teams may not be able to reach them in time. The race is on if something goes wrong, as sailors only have about two minutes to get on fire gear, similar to firefighters.
News 2's Shelby Mac had the privilege of racing the clock to throw on fire gear as quickly as she could. She came up short by about five seconds, with the ideal time frame being completely dressed and ready to fight fires within two minutes.
Hammonds is only five years away from the end of his naval career, and he's excited to come back home. 'Go back home to Tennessee, farm a little bit, be left alone, kind of not have to deal with people and systems and stuff, just kind of you know farm and go back to where I'm actually more comfortable.'
To see more from Shelby's naval journey, check out the News 2 special report .
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