Bryan “Doug” Brown is a retired General in the United States Army former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, FL. USSOCOM is responsible for all Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations forces and is Department of Defense’s lead command for planning and synchronizing the global war on terrorism.
Brown entered the Army in 1967 as a private in the infantry. He immediately entered training for Special Forces. After completing the Qualification Course, he served on an A Team in the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, NC. After completion of Officer Candidate School, he attended Army Flight School at Fort Rucker, AL.
Brown has served at all levels of command and staff to include three company commands and two battalion commands. He also commanded the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
As a general officer, he served as assistant division commander (maneuver), 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One), Fort Riley, KS, and then returned to special operations as the director of plans, policy and strategic assessments at U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, FL. Brown then assumed command of Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, and later U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg.
During his career, he has been involved in combat operations in Vietnam, Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada), Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and others.
He is the senior aviator in the U.S. Army and is the first member of the Army’s Aviation Branch to be promoted to the rank of four-star general.
He is a graduate of the Harvard Executive Education Program’s national and international security managers course. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Cameron University and a master’s degree in business from Webster University.
His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” Device. He also wears the Special Forces Tab, Master Army Aviator Badge, Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge. He is also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.