Brown next served as Assistant Division Commander, 25th Infantry Division from 1978 to 1980. He returned to West Point as Deputy Superintendent, and his tenure there also had him responsible for the welcome, housing, and transition of the American hostages that had been released from Iran, for which he received a Meritorious Service Medal. In 1981, he took command of Mobilization and Readiness Region IV, which was responsible for Reserve and National Guard units in five southeastern states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.