Bryan D. Brown

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Bryan D. Brown
GEN Bryan Brown official portrait.jpg
General Bryan D. Brown
Nickname Doug
Born (1948-10-20) October 20, 1948 (age 64)
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1967–2007
Rank US-O10 insignia.svg General
Commands held U.S. Special Operations Command
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Joint Special Operations Command
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Operation Urgent Fury
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Awards See below

Bryan Douglas "Doug" Brown (born October 20, 1948)[1] is a retired four-star general, having served four decades in the United States Army. As his last assignment he served as the seventh commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), from September 2, 2003 until July 9, 2007.[2] As USSOCOM's commander, he was responsible for all unified special operations forces, both active duty and reserve.[3] Brown retired from active duty in September 2007 with Admiral Eric T. Olson taking over command of USSOCOM.[4] His other notable commands include the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC).[5][6] In a career that spanned four decades his combat tours include Vietnam, the invasion of Grenada and the Gulf War.

Contents

Early life and family [edit]

A native of Fort Meade Maryland,[7] Brown grew up in a military family. His father, Arnett Brown was in the U.S. Army, and a member of the 89th Infantry Division during World War II and his mother was Mary Lou Brown.[8] His father would eventually become a Command Sergeant Major and serve in the Vietnam War. In High School he played baseball and basketball and eventually made it onto a semi-pro team team in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In a 2009 interview with The Year in Special Operations he commented on his short lived semi-pro career, stating; "I played three games with them and found that life couldn’t be sustained on $3 per game." With losing interest in college and his father in Vietnam, he walked into a recruiting office and joined the Army as an infantryman.[6]

He is married to Penelope "Penny" Brown (née Whightsil), a native of Fayetteville.[9][7] Together they have two daughters and five grandchildren.[9][7]

Military service [edit]

He entered the Army in 1967 as a private in the infantry.[2][6][10][11] While attending Airborne School at Fort Bragg he signed up for Army Special Forces after meeting Army SF recruiters.[6] After Brown completed Special Forces Qualification Course he was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group.[6] He returned to Vietnam as part of a Special Forces "A Team".[5][6] His interest in aviation started after returning to the United States from his tour in Vietnam. During a ruck march at Mountain Ranger Camp he became enthralled with helicopters after riding in a UH-1 helicopter during a reconnaissance flight over northern Georgia.[6] Immediately afterwards he signed up for Officer Candidate School and Flight School.[6] He graduated OCS in May 1970, obtaining a field artillery officer commission as a second lieutenant.[12][7] He went on to earn his aviator badge in 1971 after attending Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama.[9][12] After aviation school he returned to Vietnam as a UH-1 helicopter pilot.[5] He would go on to become the first member of the Aviation branch to attain the rank of four-star general.[10]

In June 1978 Brown was assigned to the 158th Aviation Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.[12][13] The 158th Aviation Battalion was part of Task Force 158[12] which would later become the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in 1981, with Brown being a founding member.[6][10] After Operation Eagle Claw's failure in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis, Brown led planning efforts for the follow-up operation, known as Operation Credible Sport[12] which would ultimately not come to fruition due to a peaceful resolution to the crisis. In October 1983 while a member of newly established 160th SOAR, Brown participated in the invasion of Grenada.[5][6] During the late 1980s Brown led U.S. forces in Operation Prime Chance where they provided escort security for Kuwaiti tankers during the Iran-Iraq War.[6] In 1988 he participated in Operation Mount Hope III during which U.S. captured a crashed Soviet-made Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter in Chad.[6] In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, Brown commanded a battalion within 160th SOAR in Operation Desert Storm. After Desert Storm Brown lead the entire 160th SOAR,[5] becoming it's third commanding officer.[13]

Between 1994 and 1996 he served as assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), at Fort Riley, Kansas.[5] Afterwards he served as director of Plans, Policy and Strategic Assessments (J5/J7) at the U.S. Special Operations Command.[5] As a lieutenant general he commanded Joint Special Operations Command from 1998–2000.[14] From there Brown went on to lead U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) fom October 2000 to 2002.[15][7] While at the helm of USASOC Brown sought to modernize neglected aspects of Army special operations, mainly the civil affairs and psychological warfare units.[6] By the time Brown had left he increased USASOC's budget by 200 percent.[6] After leading all of the Army's special forces for two years Brown was selected to become the Deputy Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.[16] He held the position from 2002 until 2003 when he was nominated to take over U.S. Special Operations Command.[5]

In 2003 Gen Brown awarded the first Distinguished Service Cross since Vietnam to Maj Mark Mitchell for combat actions during the 2001 Battle of Qala-i-Jangi

On September 2, 2003, Brown replaced an Air Force general Charles R. Holland as the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.[5] During Brown's tenure as USSOCOM commander he was involved in aftermath of the Pat Tillman friendly fire incident that had occurred in early 2004.[17] He testified before the congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2007 on receiving a memo from Lt Gen Stanley McCrystal, then-commander of JSOC, informing Brown that it was "highly possible that Corporal Tillman was killed by friendly fire".[18][17] Ultimately, former commanding general of USASOC, Lt Gen Philip Kensinger, and other Army officers were held responsible for the mishandling of information surrounding Tillman's death.[19] On November 23, 2005 Brown, together with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Marine Corps Commandant General Michael Hagee announced the creation of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Prior to the creation of MARSOC the Marine Corps had not been involved in special operations which were conducted by Army, Navy and Air Force units assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command. After the September 11, 2001 attacks the Secretary of Defense had directed the Marine Corps and Brown's predecessor to work closer together in the Global War on Terror. This culminated in the creation of MCSOCOM Detachment One on June 19, 2003, shortly before Brown took command of SOCOM. It was nearly three years later on February 24, 2006 when MARSOC was activated at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.[20]

Gen Brown handing over the USSOCOM flag to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates with Admiral Olson preparing to take charge of the command in 2007.

After four years of leading SOCOM President George W. Bush nominated Rear Admiral Eric T. Olson to succeed Brown as the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command on May 11, 2007.[21] Brown and Olson had served at the SOCOM headquarters in Tampa for four years together, Olson had been the deputy commander since 2003.[2] The change of command ceremony took place on July 9, 2007 and was located at the Tampa Convention Center.[4] It was presided over by Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.[4] During the ceremony Gates said "He came to this post four years ago determined to improve the way special operators fight, he has done just that."[22] Over the course of his military career Brown amassed a total of 4,400 hours of flight time in fixed and rotary-winged aircraft.[14]

Post-military life [edit]

Shortly after Brown retired from the Army he joined the board of directors for Aurora Flight Sciences in November 2007.[14] Aurora Flight Sciences specializes in the scientific and military applications of robotic aircraft and aerospace vehicles.[14] Brown is the president and founder of his own consultation firm, Tier 4 Consulting.[9][23] He serves on the board of directors for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.[24] He also serves on the board of directors for The Protective Group,[25] a company which specializes in developing composite armor for personnel, vehicles and aircraft.[26] He is a senior advisor to the CEO of Smith and Wesson.[9]

Education [edit]

His military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Advance Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College.[3][14] At the Army War College in 1992 a then-Lieutenant Colonel Brown co-wrote a military studies program paper titled Combat Search and Rescue: A Search for Tomorrow. In it Brown was highly critical of the United States Air Force, saying "The U.S. Air Force is the proponent agency for search and rescue but chose not to deploy any forces to Desert Storm".[27] Brown graduated from the Harvard Executive Education Program's National and International Security Managers Course.[3][14][28] He received a bachelor's degree in history from Cameron University as well as a master's degree in business from Webster University.[3][14][28]

Awards and honors [edit]

General Brown has been decorated for service, to include:

US Army Master Aviator Badge.png
US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge.gif
SpecialForcesTabMetal.jpg USAF - Occupational Badge - High Altitude Low Opening.svg
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
V
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Badge Master Aviator Badge
Badge Parachutist Badge
Badge Special Forces Tab Military Free Fall Parachute Badge
1st Row Awards Defense Distinguished Service Medal w/ 2 oak leaf clusters Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit
2nd Row Awards Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal w/ 2 oak leaf clusters
3rd Row Awards Air Medal w/ valor device Joint Service Commendation Medal Army Commendation Medal Army Good Conduct Medal
4th Row Awards National Defense Service Medal w/ 2 service stars Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w 3 service stars Vietnam Service Medal w/ 3 service star Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ 1 service star
5th Row Awards Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Army Service Ribbon Army Overseas Service Ribbon
6th Row Awards NATO Medal for Yugoslavia Vietnam Campaign Medal w/ "60" Device Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) Kuwait Liberation Medal
Unit Awards Joint Meritorious Unit Award w/ 2 oak leaf clusters
The dedication ceremony for renaming the 160th SOAR compound the "GEN Bryan "Doug" Brown Compound"

Shortly after his retirement Brown was named Patriot of the Year for 2007 by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and he also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.[9][28] The following year he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame.[12][9] The Association of Special Operations Professionals named Brown "Man of the Year" in 2011.[6] In 2012 the 160th SOAR compound at Fort Campbell was renamed the "GEN Bryan "Doug" Brown Compound" in his honor.[13][29]

Works by Bryan Brown [edit]

References [edit]

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  1. ^ Marquis Who's Who on the Web
  2. ^ a b c "First SEAL Tapped to Head SOCOM". Military.com. May 11, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2013. 
  3. ^ a b c d "Q&A: General Bryan D. Brown". Kmimediagroup.com. September 11, 2001. Retrieved May 7, 2013. 
  4. ^ a b c Mike Bottoms; Master Sgt. Laura LeBeau (July 22, 2007). "USSOCOM holds historic change of command". hurlburt.af.mil. Retrieved April 27, 2013. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o John D. Gresham (May 31, 2011). "A Warrior’s Life: An Interview with Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, USA (Ret.)". Defense Media Network. Retrieved May 7, 2013. 
  6. ^ a b c d e http://archives.thepilot.com/November2001/11-09-01/110901GenBrown.html
  7. ^ "89th Infantry Division of World War II: June-August 2004 Newsletter". 89infdivww2.org. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Securing America's Future Energy". Secureenergy.org. September 1, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  9. ^ a b c John D. Gresham (October 15, 2009). "General Bryan D. Brown Interview". Defense Media Network. Retrieved April 27, 2013. 
  10. ^ William R. Levesque (May 12, 2007). "Navy officer is selected to head SOCom". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 14 May 2013. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f "General Bryan D. Brown, Ret". Quad-a.org. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  12. ^ a b c David Snow. "160th SOAR makes rare dedication - The Eagle Post : News". The Eagle Post. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.aurora.aero/Common/Downloads/Media/PDF/APR-201.pdf
  14. ^ "News Release: General Officer Announcement". Defense.gov. July 27, 2000. Retrieved April 27, 2013. 
  15. ^ "News Release: General Officer Announcements". Defense.gov. July 3, 2002. Retrieved April 27, 2013. 
  16. ^ a b "Online NewsHour: Report - Rumsfeld Denies Part in Cover-Up". PBS. August 1, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2013. 
  17. ^ Mary Tillman (August 8, 2010). "Pat Tillman's mother on Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal: I told you so – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved May 14, 2013. 
  18. ^ "Lt. General Philip Kensinger Called 'Responsible' in Pat Tillman Case – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. March 24, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2013. 
  19. ^ Priddy, Maj. Wade (2006). "Marine Detachment 1: Opening the door for a Marine force contribution to USSOCom". Marine Corps Gazette (Marine Corps Association) 90 (6): 58–59. 
  20. ^ Ann Scott Tyson (May 11, 2007). "Olson Picked to Lead U.S. Special Operations Command". Washington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2007. 
  21. ^ Jim Garamone (July 9, 2007). "Navy admiral takes helm of U.S. Special Ops command". Af.mil. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  22. ^ Bryan Bender (December 27, 2010). "The 2007 class of retiring generals". Boston.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  23. ^ "Board of Directors - Special Operations Warrior Foundation". Specialops.org. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  24. ^ "The Protective Group, Inc.: Board of Directors - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  25. ^ "The Protective Group". The Protective Group. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  26. ^ Bryan D. Brown; Victor E. Renuart, Jr. (1992), Combat Search and Rescue: A Search for Tomorrow, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania: United States Army War College, retrieved May 16, 2013 
  27. ^ a b c "HKS Executive Education". Ksgexecprogram.harvard.edu. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 
  28. ^ "160th SOAR (A) compound dedicated to former commander". Soc.mil. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013. 

External links [edit]

Media related to Bryan D. Brown at Wikimedia Commons

Military offices
Preceded by
Michael Canavan		 Commander of Joint Special Operations Command
1998 – 2000		 Succeeded by
Dell L. Dailey
Preceded by
William Tangney		 Commander of United States Army Special Operations Command
October 11, 2000 – August 29, 2002		 Succeeded by
Philip R. Kensinger, Jr.
Preceded by
Charles R. Holland		 Commander of United States Special Operations Command
September 2, 2003 – July 9, 2007		 Succeeded by
Eric T. Olson
Authority control
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