The Storyteller in the Spotlight: Cullman, Ala. Native Named Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Sailor of the Quarter
From Fairview High to the high seas, Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Cody Beam’s eight-year journey of service and leadership is honored by regional Navy command.
U.S. Navy story by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Debra Thomas, Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs
(NORFOLK) – For the past eight years, Petty Officer First Class Cody Beam has viewed the United States Navy through a lens. As a Navy mass communication specialist (MC), his job is to tell the story of the U.S. Navy and the Sailors who serve our nation.
From behind the camera, Beam has documented the lives and triumphs of thousands of Sailors across the globe. He has captured the thunderous launch of fighter jets from carrier flight decks, drafted official press releases under pressure, and recorded the quiet moments of camaraderie that define life at sea.
But recently, at the headquarters of Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, the lens was turned on him.
Beam, a native of Cullman, Alabama, and a 2014 graduate of Fairview High School, was named the CNRMA Sailor of the Quarter (FY3). The honor recognizes outstanding professionalism, superior performance and peerless leadership within the Navy's largest regional commands. For a Sailor who has dedicated his career to telling other people's stories, stepping into the spotlight himself is a humbling change of pace.
“Being named Sailor of the Quarter means my hard work has been recognized,” Beam said as he reflected on the milestone. “It’s proof that all of my mentors' and leaders' faith and trust in me was put in the right place.”
Beam’s journey to the regional spotlight began far from the ocean. Growing up in landlocked Cullman, Alabama, his roots are deeply tied to the close-knit community. After graduating from Fairview High School in 2014, Beam made the choice to embark on a path of service that would eventually take him across the world’s oceans.
Upon graduation from boot camp in Great lakes, Illinois and then from Defense Information School in Ft. Meade, Maryland, where the Navy trains its communicators, Beam quickly learned that military journalism is not just a desk job. Over his eight years of service, he has built a highly decorated career, serving on the front lines of naval public affairs in both calm and turbulent waters.
In 2020, during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Beam served aboard the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, USS Mustin (DDG-89). Operating under strict quarantine protocols and the isolation of a pandemic-era deployment, Beam worked tirelessly to keep both the crew and families back home informed and connected. His efforts earned him his first Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Later that year, he returned from his deployment to Navy Public Affairs Support Element Japan, where his communication skills and operational reporting earned him recognition as Sailor of the Year and two additional Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals during his tenure.
Perhaps nothing highlights the grit of a Navy storyteller more than Beam’s deployment aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in 2025 While deployed, Beam was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, a rare and sobering distinction for public affairs personnel, underscoring a fundamental truth: Navy journalists serve wherever the battle is fought.
Following his time onboard the Truman, Beam joined the public affairs team at Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic on Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. In his short time with the region, he has covered high-profile events, including the Navy’s 250th celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. and both the International Naval Review 250 in New York City and Sail 250 Boston, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation. Beam’s aerial photos of the U.S. Navy’s oldest commissioned warship, USS Constitution leading the Sail 250 Boston Parade of Sail, provided enduring imagery of the event that will last the test of time.
Beam has also served as principal photographer for admirals, government officials and foreign dignitaries, solidifying his reputation as one of the elite communicators in the fleet.
Despite a growing rack of achievement ribbons and medals and a catalog of global deployments, Beam remains remarkably grounded. For him, the Sailor of the Quarter award is not a personal victory, but a tribute to the team that helped build his career.
“Any achievement I make is a reflection of those who taught me and guided me throughout my time in the Navy,” Beam said. “I am grateful for all the lessons I've learned.”
Beam is focused on paying those lessons forward. As a first-class petty officer, he views his primary mission as mentoring junior sailors who are just beginning their own Navy journeys. For Beam, leadership is about ensuring the Sailors under his charge have the tools, confidence, and support to reach their own personal and professional goals.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have leaders looking out for me,” said Beam. “I owe it to those junior Sailors to pay it forward.”
As CNRMA Sailor of the Quarter, MC1 Cody Beam is momentarily coming into focus. But soon enough, he will turn his lens back towards the Fleet, ready to capture the next chapter of the Navy’s history, even as he continues to write an extraordinary story of his own.