Brown was born in Michigan, but raised in Danbury, CT where his parents Thomas L. Brown and Marjorie G. Brown still reside. The elder Brown is a retired U.S. Navy Commander and Naval Aviator who flew the P-5 Marlin and P-3 Orion aircraft. After retiring from the military, Commander Brown was a pilot for Trans World Airlines. Rear Admiral Brown was commissioned as a Naval officer from the University of New Mexico's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1983.
Career
Brown completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training class 125 in 1983 and Army Airborne School prior to his assignment to Navy SEAL Team FIVE in 1984. In 1987 he studied Spanish at the Defense Language Institute and then reported to SEAL Team ONE to serve as platoon commander and operations officer. Brown’s assignments include SEAL Team EIGHT executive officer where he deployed as Naval Special Warfare Task Unit commander NSWTU-Wasp under commander Amphibious Task Group 185.2; and then as commander NSWTU-America under CTF60. Brown commanded Naval Special Warfare Unit FOUR, Puerto Rico, under U.S. Southern Command from 1999-2001. Brown’s other assignments include the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, United States Special Operations Command, and Navy section chief, U.S. Military Advisory Group El Salvador. In 2002 Brown reported to the Directorate of Operations of the Joint Staff, Deputy Directorate Special Operations, and served as the Global War on Terrorism branch chief until September 2005. He was then assigned as assistant chief of staff for Ops and Plans at Naval Special Warfare Command until June 2007, when he took command of Naval Special Warfare Group ONE. Prior to commanding SOCSOUTH, Brown served as the deputy commander of Special Operations Command Europe. Currently Brown is currently employed by Knowledge Point and working in Abu Dhabi, UAE as well as serving as CEO of Boston based investment firm, GVP Global Corporation.
Taking command of Special Operations Command South
On Sept 17, 2010, Brown officially took charge of U.S. special operations forces in Latin America as the commander of United States Special Operations Command South at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida. The command is part of U.S. Southern Command, which is based in Miami and oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. SOCSOUTH oversees Special Operations Forces including civil affairs and information support teams in Latin America and the Caribbean. The command manages some 300 special operations personnel within 15 countries. SOCSOUTH has a number of assigned forces including Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group; Naval Special Warfare Detachment South, and Charlie Company of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. One of Brown's first duties as SOCSOUTH commander was to host the Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program Conference in Miami, FL on Sept 20-24,2010. RDML Brown retired after 30 years of service completing a nearly two year assignment as the military deputy of the National Geospatial Agency, Springfield, VA; one of the most prominent members of the US Intelligence Community as well as serving SECDEF as a Combat Support Agency.
