Faces of Midland: Brandon Munsey
Faces of Midland is a collaborative storytelling project celebrating the vibrant lives of those who live, work, and thrive in Midland.
Brandon Munsey fulfills a family legacy in service to our country.
By Trisha Fenby
Photo by Renee’ Deckrow, Captured Studio
Brandon Munsey is in auto sales at Snethcamp Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Midland. He grew up in West Branch and immediately joined the U.S. Army out of high school, marrying his high school sweetheart while enlisted. Driven by a family legacy, Brandon knew early on that he wanted to follow the path of his grandfather, who served in the Army, and his father, a Marine. His father even signed his enlistment papers when he was just sixteen.
He served 5 years in the Army, originally enrolling as a Canine Handler, but was unable to continue that job due to a prior wrist injury. He was reclassified as a Military Police. One of the most important lessons he learned and has carried with him was discipline. There are standards to maintain, it didn’t take long for Brandon to understand that he had to own his mistakes and continuously improve.
"Our Senior Drill Sergeant said, ‘Private Munsey, can you stand up?’ I thought, 'I'm being recognized!’” With pride, Brandon stood before his unit, “Then she just absolutely yelled at me saying, ‘You're the worst soldier I've ever seen. Your bed is disgusting.’” Brandon explains that she even threatened to move him to a different unit, all over a messy bed.
This was an eye-opening experience for him, and his perseverance drove him to be the best at making beds. So good, in fact, Brandon made a lot of beds in the unit. Knowing they had limited time, this platoon learned to work together as a team. While Brandon made beds, the other soldiers did other things to prepare for the Drill Sergeant’s arrival. Brandon learned a valuable lesson from this experience, one that shaped the leader he later became. After 3 and a half years, Branded ranked up to Corporal, and later became Sergeant.
In 2020, Brandon was shipped to South Korea, where he served a year patrolling the inner city around the American bases. His main responsibility was to keep U.S. service members in order and to maintain a safe, orderly environment in off-post entertainment districts. Korean law enforcement culture limits the Military Police to non-lethal tools such as tasers and batons. Brandon learned de-escalation and crowd control techniques to do his job effectively. He also performed security duties for VIP Visits and participated in high-security missions.
He enjoyed the culture in Korea, observing the respect of elders and experiencing the communal dining and shared meals. He recalled the formal norms that you don’t see here in the states, such as the way money is handed off to another person, or the placement of hands and arms identifying seniority when a man walks down the street.
Brandon honed his resilience under stress while overseas. He endured intense training and handled high-pressure incidents. He describes the shared trauma that Military Police often encounter. As an MP, he was the one called to step in when others are on the brink of losing control. Brandon saw soldiers that drank too much, became abusive to their spouses, or attempted suicide. In his role, he had to maintain professionalism, provide any deescalation techniques necessary, and process what was really going on. In one instance he witnessed suicide as the soldier jumped off the hangar in front of his wife and kids. Brandon used all his training and resources to get people through the incident, while trying to process his own emotions around witnessing such a horrific event.
While therapy is offered after such events, the soldiers are told they’re weak if they seek help. That stigma kept many from getting help, forcing soldiers to “suck it up” just to keep functioning.
While serving in Korea, Brandon received notice that his father had tragically died in a drowning accident. He flew home to attend to matters with his family then returned to complete his five years of service. He considered reenlisting, but a service-connected disability brought his military career to an end. Brandon returned to North Carolina, and the moved Michigan with his wife to support his grieving mother and brother. While navigating his own personal loss he began redefining his future.
Today, he is settled into a life where his family is his central focus. His service to our country fulfilled a lifelong dream and now his greatest pride is the life he is building with his wife, Alissa and their daughter.