JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Sept. 14, 2023) – Capt. Cecilia Brown, a maxillofacial oral surgeon at Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s surgery clinic, provides care for a patient. Brown, a native of Sparta, Georgia, is the first African American female to complete the US Navy Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Residency program and is the only African American oral surgeon in the Navy. Brown says, “Life is like a 4-way stop. You can either proceed through the stop sign to move forward on a particular path, go backwards and end up doing the same things or make a left or right turn to make changes and try new avenues.” (U.S. Navy photo by Deidre Smith, Naval Hospital Jacksonville/Released)