Charles Q. Brown Jr.

Charles Q. Brown Jr.
General Charles Q. Brown Jr. in 2020
Nickname(s)	CQ
Born	1962 (age 59–60) San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1985–present
Rank	General
Commands held	Chief of Staff of the Air Force Pacific Air Forces United States Air Forces Central Command 31st Fighter Wing 8th Fighter Wing USAF Weapons School 78th Fighter Squadron
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (4)
Signature

Charles Quinton Brown Jr.^[1] (born 1962) is a United States Air Force four-star general who currently serves as the 22nd chief of staff of the Air Force. He is the first African-American to be appointed as chief of staff and the first African-American to lead any branch of the United States Armed Forces. Brown assumed office from Gen. David L. Goldfein who served as chief of staff since 2016 in a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews on 6 August 2020.

Brown's previous assignments include serving as the commander of Pacific Air Forces, air component commander for United States Indo-Pacific Command and executive director of the Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff. As the air component commander for CENTCOM, he was responsible for developing contingency plans and conducting air operations in a 20-nation area of responsibility covering Central and Southwest Asia.^[2] Brown also previously served as the deputy commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, and prior to that, he was the commander of Air Forces Central.

In 2020, Brown was named on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.^[3]

Early life[]

Then-Lieutenant Charles Q. Brown Jr., receiving his wings, c. 1985.

Charles Quinton Brown Jr. was born in 1962. Brown, who went by the nickname "CQ", grew up in a military family in San Antonio, Texas. Brown's Father, Charles Q. Brown. Sr, served for 30 years within the Army and rose to the rank of colonel. His grandfather, Robert E. Brown was drafted in World War II and served in the Pacific Theatre in Hawaii and Saipan. Brown had one sister. Brown later attended Texas Tech University, majoring in engineering.^[4][5]

Brown's active duty career began in 1985, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He is a brother of the Eta Upsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

In 1994, Brown earned a master's degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

In 2012, the Texas Tech Alumni Association declared Brown a "Distinguished Graduate" of Texas Tech University.^[6][7]

Military career[]

Lieutenant General Charles Q. Brown Jr. with General Lloyd Austin during the Ninth Air Force change of command ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, June 29, 2015.

Lieutenant General Brown, as AFCENT commander, helps cut the opening ribbon at Dubai Air Show 2015.

Then-Lieutenant General Brown flying an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Brown has served in a variety of positions at the squadron and wing level, including an assignment to the United States Air Force Weapons School as an F-16 instructor. His notable staff tours include aide-de-camp to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force; director, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group; and deputy director, operations, U.S. Central Command. He also served as a national defense fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia.^[2]

Brown has commanded a fighter squadron, the United States Air Force Weapons School, and two fighter wings. One of the fighter wings that Brown commanded was the 8th Fighter Wing which was nicknamed as "Wolf Pack" at Kunsan Air Force Base, South Korea. Prior to his current assignment, he served as director, operations, strategic deterrence, and nuclear integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe—Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He is a command pilot with more than 2,900 flying hours, including 130 combat hours.^[2]

Brown's career as a general officer began when he was appointed as the commander of the 31st Fighter wing in Aviano Air Force Base, Italy and elevated to the rank of brigadier general in June 2009. In May 2013, Brown was promoted to the rank of major general when he was appointed as deputy commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, U.S. Central Command and in March 2014 was appointed as director of operations, strategic deterrence, and nuclear integration of U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany.^[8][9]

In June 2015, Brown received his third star when he was appointed as United States Air Forces Central Command (USAFCENT) and as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command in July 2016. As AFCENT commander, Brown oversaw all of Air Force operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, while also in-charge as second-in-command of USCENTCOM.^[9][8]

In July 2018, Brown was nominated to succeed General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy as commander of Pacific Air Forces, as O'Shaughnessy was nominated to become commander of the United States Northern Command. Accordingly, Brown was also promoted to four-star general. As PACAF commander, General Brown oversaw all of major United States Air Force operations within the Indo-Pacific region.^[10]

Air Force Chief of Staff[]

Vice President Mike Pence ceremonially swears in Brown as the 22nd chief of staff of the United States Air Force in the Oval Office, August 4, 2020. Brown officially took office two days later in a separate ceremony at Joint Base Andrews.

On 2 March 2020, it was announced that President Donald Trump would nominate Brown to become the next Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, succeeding David L. Goldfein.^[11] On 9 June 2020, Brown was unanimously confirmed (98–0) by the United States Senate to succeed Goldfein as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. This confirmation made him the first African American to lead a branch of the United States Armed Forces.^[12] In this capacity, as United States Air Force Chief of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown Jr. therefore was the most senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for organizing, training and equipping all of the active-duty Air Force officers, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. As Air Force Chief of Staff, General Brown also become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was tasked to advise the president, Secretary of Defense and National Security Council regarding Air Force matters.

Part of Brown's actions following his appointment as Air Force Chief of Staff was establishing a flexible logistics system according to the Air Force's fiscal year of 2021 budget in order to ensure the Air Force is capable of conducting "logistics under attack," on which it was considers as United States Air Force key to success in a highly contested environment. General Brown also supports the idea of "expeditionary logistics under attack," which was necessary in order to provide the service with "agile and survivable forward communications" as deterrent against an attack via cyberspace.^[13]

General Brown piloting a Boeing KC-46A Pegasus.

General Brown wanted to continue pursuing what his predecessor General David L. Goldfein maintained as top priority about multi-domain command and control following the Air Force Association's 2016 Air, Space & Cyber Conference. According to General Brown, the importance of Joint All-Domain Command and Control was emphasizing the specific needs of an Air Force which would be able to fly, fight and win air superiority and domain all as part of the joint team.^[13] Following the establishment of the United States Space Force which was also part of the Department of the Air Force, General Brown also wanted to ensure Space Superiority working closely with the first Chief of Space Operations General Jay Raymond. General Brown also acknowledged that the United States Space Force was a great deal of the Air Force department's development and near-term innovation that would be in the space domain operation. General Brown also emphasized the importance of Space Superiority and committed to a full working collaboration between the Air Force and Space Force to strengthen the Space Force capability as the world's first and currently only independent space force.^[13]

General Brown at Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., on November 12, 2020.

During his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff, General Brown also began to start integrating the United States Air Force new tanker aircraft, Boeing KC-46 Pegasus as part of Air Force fleet rejuvenation and began its operation within Air Mobility Command. The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus would later be tasked for mid-air refueling missions that provide next generation aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and partner-nation receivers. To demonstrate the strength and capability of the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, the Air Force sent three KC-46s from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing to Joint Base Andrew for a demonstration flight, in which General Brown and several Congressional delegation members, including U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a longtime advocate for the KC-46A Pegasus tanker, participated in the demonstration flight.^[14][15]

General Brown also was included and mentioned during the 2021 African-American History Month for making history as the first African-American military chief of staff and the first African-American who has led any military branch within the United States Armed Forces along with General Lloyd Austin, the first African-American to serve as a United States Secretary of Defense.^[16][17][5] To this effect, Brown was made an honorary Tuskegee Airman, receiving the symbolic red jacket in a ceremony on 14 August 2021.^[18]

General Brown is considered a strong contender to succeed General Mark Milley as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[19]

Education[]

General Charles Q. Brown Jr. with Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff Air Chief Marshal Yuyu Sutisna during a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia.

• 1984 Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock
• 1991 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
• 1992 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• 1994 Master of Aeronautical Science degree, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida
• 1997 Distinguished graduate, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• 2000 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• 2004 National Defense Fellow, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia
• 2008 AF Senior Leadership Course, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina
• 2012 Joint Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• 2014 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• 2015 Pinnacle Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• 2017 Leadership at the Peak, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.^[2]

Assignments[]

• May 1985 – April 1986, student, undergraduate pilot training, 82nd Student Squadron, Williams AFB, Arizona
• May 1986 – July 1986, student, lead-in fighter training, 434th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, Holloman, AFB, New Mexico
• August 1986 – March 1987, student, F-16 training, 62nd Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, MacDill AFB, Florida
• April 1987 – October 1988, F-16 pilot, 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
• November 1988 – April 1991, F-16 instructor pilot, wing electronic combat officer, and wing standardization and evaluation flight examiner, 307th and 308th Tactical Fighter Squadrons, Homestead AFB, Florida
• April 1991 – August 1991, student, U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nevada
• August 1991 – August 1992, F-16 squadron weapons officer and flight commander of 307th Fighter Squadron, Homestead AFB, Florida
• September 1992 – October 1994, weapons school instructor, and standardization and evaluation flight examiner, F-16 Division, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nevada
• October 1994 – July 1996, aide-de-camp to the chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia
• August 1996 – June 1997, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• June 1997 – September 1997, student, Armed Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Virginia
• September 1997 – November 1999, air operations officer, Current Operations Division, Operations Directorate, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida
• November 1999 – June 2003, F-16CJ instructor pilot and assistant operations officer, 79th Fighter Squadron; weapons and training flight commander, 20th Operations Support Squadron; operations officer, 55th Fighter Squadron; and commander of 78th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, South Carolina
• July 2003 – June 2004, National Defense Fellow, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia
• June 2004 – June 2005, deputy chief of Program Integration Division, Directorate of Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia
• July 2005 – May 2007, commandant, USAF Weapons School, 57th Wing, Nellis AFB, Nevada
• May 2007 – May 2008, commander, 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan AB, South Korea
• June 2008 – May 2009, director of Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia
• June 2009 – April 2011, commander, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano AB, Italy
• May 2011 – May 2013, deputy director of Operations Directorate, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida
• May 2013 – February 2014, deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command; deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia
• March 2014 – June 2015, director of operations, strategic deterrence, and nuclear integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, Ramstein AB, Germany
• June 2015 – July 2016, commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia
• July 2016 – July 2018, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida
• July 2018 – July 2020, commander of Pacific Air Forces; Air Component Commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; and executive director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii^[2]
• August 2020 – present, chief of staff, United States Air Force, Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia

Summary of joint assignments[]

• September 1997–November 1999, air operations officer, Current Operations Division, Operations Directorate, U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, as a major
• May 2011–May 2013, deputy director of Operations Directorate, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida, as a brigadier general
• July 2016–July 2018, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida, as a lieutenant general
• July 2018–August 2020, commander of Pacific Air Forces; Air Component Commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; and executive director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, as a general

Flight information[]

Rating: Command pilot.
Flight hours: more than 2,900, including 130 combat hours.
Aircraft flown: F-16A/B/C/D, AC-130U, AH-64, AT-38, B-1B, B-2A, B-52H, C-130J, E-8C, HH-60G, KC-135, MV-22, T-37, T-38 and two more fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft.^[2]

Awards and decorations[]

Brown has received the following awards and decorations:^[2]

Personal decorations Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters Bronze Star Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Aerial Achievement Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters Unit awards Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters Service awards Combat Readiness Medal Campaign and service medals National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korea Defense Service Medal Service, training, and marksmanship awards Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frame and oak leaf cluster Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters Air Force Training Ribbon Foreign awards Order of National Security Merit Sam-Il Medal (Republic of Korea) NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia

Other accoutrements US Air Force Command Pilot Badge Philippine Air Force Gold Wings Badge (May 2019)[20] Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge Headquarters Air Force Badge

Effective dates of promotion[]

Insignia	Rank	Date
	General	July 26, 2018
	Lieutenant general	June 29, 2015
	Major general	July 3, 2013
	Brigadier general	Nov. 20, 2009
	Colonel	June 1, 2005
	Lieutenant colonel	July 1, 1999
	Major	Aug. 1, 1996
	Captain	Feb. 28, 1989
	First lieutenant	Feb. 28, 1987
	Second lieutenant	Feb. 28, 1985

References[]

External links[]

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