Photo By Tech. Sgt. Daniel Farrell | “Downtown” Josh Brown speaks to Airmen at the New York Air National Guard’s...... read more read more
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Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, N.Y. – The New York Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing welcomed the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and CNBC on-air contributor, Joshua “Downtown” Brown, to F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, NY, to speak to Airmen and tour the base, Dec. 8, 2024.
Brown accepted an invitation to talk about his life and leadership from the enlisted organization, The Rising 6, which represents and refers to the first six ranks of the lower enlisted force.
“The Rising 6 played a key role in inviting Mr. Brown to speak,” said SMSgt Monica Dalberg, 106th human resource advisor. “In addition to representing the junior enlisted force and finding solutions for challenges, they want to actively pursue educational and enriching opportunities for their fellow Airmen, like the one we had today.”
Brown talked about his childhood and how his parent’s divorce, when he was in the 12th grade, affected him.
“I had trouble processing it, so of course the best place to go when that happens to a 17, 18 year-old is directly into a fraternity,” Brown joked.
After two semesters at the University of Maryland, Brown returned home to Long Island to figure out what was next.
He decided to pursue his Series 7 to become a general securities representative in the late 1990’s.
According to Brown, it was the height of shady stockbroker boiler rooms, a Jordan Belfort-inspired craze of making fast money on Wall Street with little to no experience.
Brown explained that when the 2008 financial crisis hit, he was put in a position to instruct clients to buy or sell stocks at the absolute worst time to take care of his family.
“It is Armageddon on Wall St.,” said Brown. “I have the world’s worst incentive system. For me to take home a paycheck in the month of December, I have to spend November calling people and getting them to do transactions – that I know are not the right thing to be doing.”
Brown explained this situation to his wife, who he calls ‘Sprinkles’, which led to his awakening.
“Don’t you see the problem, you are now in a situation where the best possible thing for us, like your family and yourself, is the worst possible thing for your clients. What’s wrong with you? How did you land here?” Brown recalled his wife lambasting.
“It’s not until the market is falling for 18 straight months, and it’s cut in half, that that epiphany is forced on you and it comes from somebody completely outside of Wall St.,” said Brown. “Sprinkles couldn’t tell you the difference between a stock, and a bond, and a commodity, but she can definitely tell you when you’re in a hole the way I was.”
Brown’s turnaround began as he wrote his blog, ‘The Reformed Broker,’ unleashing insight into the world of being a stockbroker.
He wasn’t making money, but the blog was slowly gaining traction and he knew he was on the right path.
“If you make a decision and you just say… I’m going to make a change, I believe this because I lived it, but I think the universe conspires to help you,” Brown said.
That help came in the form of a phone call from CNBC to be an on-air contributor, his decision to drop his Series 7 for a more client-based Series 65, and to begin an investment firm rooted in client satisfaction, according to Brown.
Brown credited his Long Island roots for his ability to persevere.
“I want to say something about Long Islanders in general; we don’t fold,” said Brown. “That energy, that kind of striver mentality, just felt like that was a very big part of what kept me going. I was surrounded by people that had that energy, like I gotta make it, I gotta figure it out.”
Nearly 16 years removed from the 2008 financial crisis, Brown sits on top of his company as a CEO, has been an on-air contributor at CNBC for 12-years, authored four books, and posts a weekly podcast on his show, ‘The Compound & Friends.’
“Mr. Brown’s story emphasized a lot of aspects our Airmen could relate to,” said Col. Sean Garell, 106th Operations Group commander. “His personal response during times of crisis epitomized our Air Force core values and we are grateful that he shared them with our military community.”
For parting advice, Brown ended his speech on the three guiding principles for his company. Respect for the industry, client results, and taking care of his employees financial, emotional and spiritual health.
First, people deserve to get paid well. Emotionally, people need to feel good about what they do and truly feel like they make a difference in peoples’ lives. Spiritual fulfillment comes from the bigger picture of how they spend the hours of their life, that’s really important, Brown explained.
Following his presentation, Brown toured the 106th, visiting the 101st Rescue Squadron heritage room adorned with paint-stamped green feet of retired helicopter pilots and special mission aviators affixed on ceiling tiles. He learned about the members of the Jolly-51, the seven Airman, four of whom were from the 106th, who perished in a helicopter crash in western Iraq, who are pictured on the heritage room wall.
Airmen from the 102nd Rescue Squadron gave Brown a tour of an HC-130J Combat King II search and rescue aircraft, and they allowed Brown to sit in the captain’s seat, a much different view than the Manhattan office window that he is used to.
During a walk-through of the 103rd Rescue Squadron with Staff Sgt. John Kosequat, a 103rd Rescue Squadron pararescuemen, Brown learned about the special warfare squadron and the rescue missions they participated in.
“I was excited and honored to host Josh and share our mission with him,” said Kosequat. “He was really engaged throughout the visit and seemed very impressed by all of our capabilities he never knew existed right in his hometown of Long Island.”
While on CNBC’s television show Halftime Report, Josh commented on his experience at the 106th.
“These are the people…who pull off the most daring, impossible rescues when people are in danger from accidents at sea, natural disasters, and even in combat zones,” said Brown. “Big shout out to all of the people posted at the 106th, thank you so much for hosting me.”
The 106th Rescue Wing, based at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach, New York, operates and maintains the HC-130J Combat King II search and rescue aircraft, and the HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue helicopter. The 106th Rescue Wing is home to a special warfare squadron with pararescuemen and combat rescue officers, specializing in rescue and recovery, and deploys for domestic and overseas operations.
| Date Taken: | 12.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2024 17:06 |
| Story ID: | 487641 |
| Location: | WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | MERRICK, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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