Robert Mark Brown Brigadier General Mark Brown is the Commanding General , Soldier Systems Center ( SSC ) , Natick Massachusetts , and the Program Executive Office ( PEO ) Soldier , headquartered at Fort Belvoir , Virginia . The United States Army Soldier Systems Center ( SSC ) is a military research complex and installation in Natick , Massachusetts charged by the U . S . Department of Defense with the research and development ( including fielding and sustainment ) of food , clothing , shelters , airdrop systems , and other servicemember support items for the U . S . military . The installation includes facilities from all the military services , not just the Army , and is so configured to allow cross - service cooperation and collaboration both within the facility and with the many academic , industrial and governmental institutions in the Greater Boston Area . PEO Soldier ' s vision is to be the center of excellence for delivering capabilities to U . S . Army Soldiers so they can dominate the battlefield across the full spectrum of warfare . PEO Soldier remains focused directly and exclusively on the Soldier – today and throughout the Army ' s transformation to : increase soldiers ' combat effectiveness ; Deliver products that save soldier ' s lives ; and improve soldiers ' quality of life . PEO Soldier designs , develops , procures , and sustains virtually everything the Soldier wears or carries by means of a $ 4 . 1 billion annual appropriation managed through 380 discreet programs of record . BG Brown is dual - hatted as the Commanding General for the Natick Soldier Systems Center under the Army Materiel Command , where $ 1 billion of R & D is conducted annually by Natick ' s two thousand Science and Technology personnel . Brown is a 1977 graduate of the United States Military Academy , where he received his commission as an Armor officer . He received an MS in Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1989 . He is also a graduate of the U . S . Army Senior Service College Science and Technology Fellowship at the University of Texas - Austin ; the U . S . Army Command and General Staff College ; the Executive Program Manager ' s Course ; the Advanced Program Management Course of the Defense Systems Management College ; and the Training with Industry Program at BMY Defense Group in York , PA ( now United Defense Limited Partnership UDLP ) . Brown served in a wide variety of command and staff positions during his career . Prior to his current assignment he was the Deputy Commanding General , United States Army Research , Development and Engineering Command ( RDECOM ) at Fort Belvoir , Virginia ; Chief of Staff and Senior Military Assistant to the Honorable Claude M . Bolton , Jr . , the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition , Logistics , and Technology ( ASA ( ALT ) ) and Army Acquisition Executive ; Commander of Defense Contract Management Area Baltimore , Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Procurement ) , Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Acquisition , Logistics and Technology ) ; Commander of Defense Contract Management Command Clearwater , Florida ; Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Army ; Procurement Program Analyst , Office of the Chief of Staff , Army ; Chief of Army Acquisition Corps Personnel Policy , Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel in the Pentagon ; Procurement and Nuclear Weapons Assignments Officer , Total Army Personnel Command ; and Armored Systems Modernization ( ASM ) Program Procurement Officer and later ASM Milestone Decision Project Leader at U . S . Army Materiel Command . As a company grade officer , Brown served in command and key staff positions in the 1st Infantry Division , the 2nd Armored Division , and Joint Task Force Bravo in the Republic of Honduras , including two Company Commands . Awards and decorations . His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal , Legion of Merit ( with oak leaf cluster ) , Defense Meritorious Service Medal , Meritorious Service Medal ( with five oak leaf clusters ) , Joint Service Commendation Medal , Army Commendation Medal ( with oak leaf cluster ) , Army Achievement Medal , Joint Meritorious Unit Award ( with oak leaf cluster ) , and the Army Staff Identification Badge . Also , he was recognized for his work during a NFL football game on Sunday Night Football , in his hometown of Chicago .