Braithwaite is a retired U.S. Navy one-star rear admiral, having served in the Iraq War.

[9] Braithwaite was commissioned as an ensign in 1984,[1] and was initially selected as a special assistant in the Office of Legislative Affairs on Capitol Hill.

[10] He made NATO deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean in response to the start of the Gulf War.

[11] Braithwaite's active duty service ended in 1993, but he immediately joined the Navy Reserve.

[12][13] He was nominated to the rank of rear admiral (lower half) in early 2007[14] while serving as director of the Joint Public Affairs Support Element at Norfolk.

[22] On November 24, 2019, after the firing of Richard V. Spencer, Trump said he would nominate Braithwaite to become the U.S. secretary of the Navy.

[25][26][27] In his 8 months as Secretary of the Navy, Braithwaite incurred approximately $2.4 million in travel costs paid by taxpayer funds.

The week prior to Joe Biden's inauguration, Braithwaite spent $232,000 to fly to Wake Island, a tiny atoll where no sailors or Marines are stationed.

Braithwaite defended his extensive travel at taxpayer expense, saying, "I submit it's impossible to lead men and women deployed around the world from behind a desk in Washington.