Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Covington County Veterans Service Officer Brian Foshee has received the Commissioner’s Excellence Award, the highest honor granted by the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, in recognition of his outstanding service to Alabama’s veteran community.

The award honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to improving the lives of veterans, while also strengthening the public image and mission of the ADVA.

“I was surprised and grateful, but I fully understood this was a total team effort,” Foshee said. “The first two people I hugged were my boss and my assistant, Kelley.”

Born in Andalusia on March 17, 1966, Foshee graduated from Andalusia High School in 1984. He went on to serve 30 years in the United States Marine Corps and ultimately retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant.

Receiving the Commissioner’s Excellence Award marks a meaningful milestone in both his military and civilian life.

“We are helping others to the maximum extent we can from the chair we sit in. Our mission is to promote awareness and assist eligible veterans, their families, and survivors in receiving all the benefits they’re entitled to under federal and state laws,” he said.

Foshee began his military career in 1985, completing recruit training as the platoon honor man and top shooter. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and later assigned to Parris Island, where he served as an automotive mechanic and as a driver for the commanding general. In 1997, he was meritoriously promoted to gunnery sergeant and became a drill master at the Drill Instructor School.

He deployed to Iraq on three occasions and later to Afghanistan. He also played a key role in officer training. As the chief Marine Corps drill instructor at the Naval Officer Candidate School, Foshee and his team trained more than 5,200 Navy ensigns over a span of 52 months.

Foshee concluded his military career in 2012 after serving as the Marine air-ground deployment distribution operations chief in Afghanistan. He then returned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

In 2015, he returned to his hometown and began serving as the Covington County Veterans Service Officer, a role he views as an extension of his lifelong service.

“I’m able to give back to my hometown and community that supported me, my wife, and our two sons during my time in the Marine Corps,” Foshee said. “It’s a way of repaying the kindness of those who sent letters and care packages while I was deployed overseas.”

His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (with three gold stars), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with a gold star), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (with three gold stars), and the Good Conduct Medal (with one silver and three bronze stars). He also earned the Drill Instructor Ribbon with two bronze stars.

When asked to reflect on his 30-year military career, Foshee was clear.

“That’s probably the easiest question to answer,” he said. “I am proud to say I’m a United States Marine: a member of the band of brothers and sisters called The Few, The Proud. Semper Fidelis.”

Today, Foshee continues to serve from a different chair, helping veterans and their families navigate the often-complex process of claiming their benefits.

“I try to explore what the person across the desk may not know or might be trying to say. In VSO terms, that’s called claim development,” he said.

He credits his assistant, Kelley Lynn, and supervisor, Rhonda Jackson, for the success of their local office.

“My assistant VSO, Kelley Lynn, feels the same way about her job. We’re not doing anything exceptional; we’re just doing our jobs. It’s no different than what I did on active duty; it’s just within a different set of laws and responsibilities,” Foshee said.

Foshee hopes the state and nation will continue to prioritize veterans’ services and educate younger generations about the sacrifices made by military personnel.

“We’re on the right track, and we need to stay there. We must continue to remember the men and women who made this nation great,” he said.

He has been married to his wife, Sonja Foshee of Beaufort, South Carolina, for 35 years. They are the proud parents of Cayce, 30, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, and Cohl, 20, a recent summa cum laude graduate of LBW Community College.

Foshee now serves veterans from his office at the Covington County Administration Building in Andalusia. His hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Veterans seeking assistance can contact him at robert.foshee@va.alabama.gov or call 334-428-2687.