Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

Norman Anil Kumar Browne,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

, VM, ADC also known as "Charlie" Browne, is a former Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

. He served in this position from 31 July 2011 to 31 Dec 2013. Browne served as India's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

from August 2014 to April 2016.

Personal life

Browne was brought up in Allahabad and did his schooling from

St. Joseph's College, Allahabad St. Joseph's College, abbreviated to SJC, established in 1884, is a prominent CISCE-affiliated elite school in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, with high rankings both in the state and in India. It is affiliated with the Council for the Indian ...

. He is married to Mrs. Kiran Browne. Together, they have a son, Omar, who serves as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

in the IAF; and a daughter, Alisha, who is working with a multinational company.

Military career

Browne is an alumnus of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

and also trained with the

United Kingdom's The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

on Jaguar aircraft before commanding a

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

Squadron. A graduate of

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Uni ...

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

, USA, he has held many appointments including Joint Director at Air War Strategy Cell at Air Headquarters, Chief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of a

Sukhoi Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (russian: Сухой Су-30; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter ...

base, Air-I at Western Air Command and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters. Browne was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on 24 June 1972. As a fighter pilot, he has logged over 3,100 hours flying

Hunters Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, Jaguars, MiG 21s and Su-30MKIs, and has served as an instructor at the Tactics and Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) and

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

(DSSC), Wellington. Air Chief Marshal Browne became Vice Chief of the Air Staff until 31 July 2011, when he replaced outgoing Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik. Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff in January 2011, he served as the AOC-in-C of Western Air Command. Upon the retirement of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Nirmal Kumar Verma Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma (born 14 November 1950) is a former senior naval officer who served as the Chief of the Naval Staff of Indian Navy, from 31 August 2009 to 31 August 2012. In November 2012, he was appointed as the High Commissione ...

, Browne became the new Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Browne was later replaced by Air Chief Marshal

Arup Raha Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, D.Litt. ( honorary) ( bn, অরূপ রাহা) was the 21st Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and served from 31 December 2013 to 31 December 2016. He was also the Chairman o ...

Awards

Diplomatic career

Browne served as India's Ambassador to Norway from 30 August 2014 to April 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Norman Anil Kumar 1951 births Living people Anglo-Indian people Ambassadors of India to Norway Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Indian Air Force officers Indian aviators Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Indian air attachés