Robert Brooks Brown (born April 14, 1959) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

general who served as commander of the

United States Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army component unit of the United States Indo ...

. He now serves as president of the Association of the United States Army since September 30, 2021, having joined the organization as executive vice president in January 2021.

Early life and education

Brown graduated from

Grosse Pointe North High School Grosse Pointe North High School is a public high school in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Detroit. North is a four-year comprehensive high school with an enrollment of around 1,400 and expected 2016 graduating c ...

Grosse Pointe, Michigan Grosse Pointe is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,421. Grosse Pointe is an eastern suburb of Metro Detroit along Lake ...

in 1977. He was commissioned into the

as an Infantry Officer, upon graduating from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in May 1981. While at West Point, he played for the

Army Black Knights men's basketball The Army Black Knights men's basketball team represents the United States Military Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball. Army currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and plays its ...

team under coach Mike Krzyzewski and was a 1,000-point scorer for the Black Knights. Brown remains close to the coach and even spoke at a USA Basketball camp in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

prior to the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

. Brown received a Master of Education degree at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies from the National Defense University.

Military career

From June 2003 to December 2005, Brown commanded the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 25th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis–McChord. The 1st BCT, 25th Infantry Division, a Stryker unit, was deployed to

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

, Iraq from September 2004 to September 2005. Brown led the unit through combat operations and the first elections in a post-

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

Iraq. From February 2014 to April 2016, Brown was the commanding general United States Army Combined Arms Center headquartered at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

. From 2012 to 2014, Brown was the commanding general of the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

headquartered at Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Brown was serving as commander of the

until his retirement was announced in September 2019,

United States Indo-Pacific Command United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its incept ...

(USINDOPACOM) bid farewell to him on October 9, and the general officially retired on 1 November 2019.

Awards and decorations

References

, - 1959 births Living people United States Military Academy alumni Curry School of Education alumni National Defense University alumni United States Army generals Commandants of the United States Army Command and General Staff College Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit {{US-army-bio-stub