Bryan D . Brown Bryan Douglas " Doug " Brown ( born October 20 , 1948 ) is a retired four - star United States Army general , who retired after four decades of military service . In his last assignment , he served as the seventh commander of U . S . Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ) , from September 2 , 2003 , until July 9 , 2007 . As USSOCOM ' s commander , he was responsible for all unified special operations forces , both active duty and reserve . Brown joined the United States Army in 1967 as a private in the infantry and after graduating from Special Forces Qualification Course he became a Green Beret . Shortly afterwards he fought in the Vietnam War as part of a Special Forces " A " team . After returning from his combat tour he enrolled in Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May 1970 . After attending Army Aviation School he returned to Vietnam as a UH - 1 helicopter pilot . After the Vietnam War he was part of a task force that would go on to later found the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in 1981 . During his stint in the 160th SOAR Brown took part in many contingencies in the 1980s and early 1990s . In 1983 Brown participated in the invasion of Grenada where his unit became the first aviation unit to use night vision goggles in combat . In the late 1980s he led U . S . forces in Operation Prime Chance in the Persian Gulf amidst the Iran - Iraq War . Shortly thereafter he commanded a battalion within 160th SOAR during Operation Desert Storm ; after which he was promoted to Colonel and Commander of the regiment . After leaving 160th SOAR Brown served as the helm of Joint Special Operations Command for two years as a Major General , from 1998 - 2000 . He was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of U . S . Army Special Operations Command where he sought to modernize neglected aspects of Army special operations forces . In 2002 Brown was selected to become the deputy commander of U . S . Special Operations Command and he held the position until 2003 when he was selected to replace Air Force General Charles R . Holland as Commander of U . S . Special Operations Command . Shortly after becoming the head of USSOCOM , in 2004 , he was involved in the aftermath of the Pat Tillman friendly fire incident which culminated in him testifying before the congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2007 . Also during his tenure in command of USSOCOM he announced the creation of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command in 2006 alongside U . S . Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Marine Corps Commandant General Michael Hagee . In 2007 after four years of leading USSOCOM through the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan Brown ' s deputy commander , Rear Admiral Eric T . Olson , was nominated to succeed him as the commander of U . S . Special Operations Command . Early life and family . A native of Fort Meade , Maryland , Brown grew up in a military family . His father Arnett Brown was a member of the 89th Infantry Division during World War II , who would eventually become a Command Sergeant Major and serve in the Vietnam War . His mother was Mary Lou Brown . Brown played baseball and basketball in high school , and eventually made it onto a semi - pro baseball team in Fayetteville , North Carolina . In a 2009 interview with " The Year in Special Operations " , he commented on his short - lived semi - pro baseball career , saying , " I played three games with them and found that life couldn ’ t be sustained on $ 3 per game " . Losing interest in college , and with his father in Vietnam , he walked into a recruiting office and joined the Army as an infantryman . He is married to Penelope " Penny " Brown ( née Whightsil ) , a native of Fayetteville . Together , they have two daughters and five grandchildren . Military service . Early military career and Vietnam . He entered the Army in 1967 as a private in the infantry . While attending Airborne School at Fort Bragg in North Carolina , he signed up for Army Special Forces after meeting Army SF recruiters . After Brown completed the Special Forces Qualification Course , he was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group . Shortly thereafter , he deployed to Vietnam as part of a Special Forces " A Team " . His interest in aviation started after returning to the United States from his tour in Vietnam . During a ruck march at Mountain Ranger Camp , he became enthralled with helicopters after riding in a UH - 1 helicopter during a reconnaissance flight over northern Georgia . Immediately afterwards , he signed up for Officer Candidate School ( OCS ) and flight school . He graduated OCS in May 1970 , obtaining a field artillery officer commission as a second lieutenant . He went on to earn his aviator badge in 1971 after attending Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker , Alabama . After aviation school , he returned to Vietnam as a UH - 1 helicopter pilot . He would go on to become the first member of the aviation branch to attain the rank of four - star general . 160th SOAR . In June 1978 , Brown was assigned to the 158th Aviation Battalion at Fort Campbell , Kentucky . The 158th Aviation Battalion was part of Task Force 158 , which would later become the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment ( SOAR ) in 1981 , with Brown as a founding member . After Operation Eagle Claw ' s failure in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis , Brown led planning efforts for the follow - up operation , known as Operation Credible Sport , which would ultimately not come to fruition due to a peaceful resolution to the crisis . In October 1983 , while a member of the newly established 160th SOAR , Brown participated in the invasion of Grenada , during which they became the first aviation unit to use night vision goggles in combat . In the late 1980s , Brown led U . S . forces in Operation Prime Chance , which provided escort security for Kuwaiti tankers during the Iran - Iraq War . In 1988 , he participated in Operation Mount Hope III , during which U . S . forces captured a crashed Soviet - made Mi - 24 Hind attack helicopter in Chad . During the Persian Gulf War in 1991 , Brown commanded a battalion within 160th SOAR in Operation Desert Storm . After Desert Storm , Brown lead the entire 160th SOAR , becoming its third commanding officer . General Officer . Between 1994 and 1996 , Brown served as assistant Division Commander ( Maneuver ) , 1st Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) , at Fort Riley , Kansas . He later served as director of Plans , Policy and Strategic Assessments ( J5 / J7 ) at the U . S . Special Operations Command . As a lieutenant general , he commanded the Joint Special Operations Command from 1998 – 2000 . Brown went on to lead U . S . Army Special Operations Command ( USASOC ) fom October 2000 to 2002 . While at the helm of USASOC , Brown sought to modernize neglected aspects of Army special operations , mainly the civil affairs and psychological warfare units . By the time Brown left , he had increased USASOC ' s budget by 200 percent . After leading all of the Army ' s special forces for two years , Brown was selected to become the Deputy Commander of U . S . Special Operations Command . He held the position from 2002 until 2003 when he was nominated to take over U . S . Special Operations Command . Commander of USSOCOM . On September 2 , 2003 , Brown replaced Air Force General Charles R . Holland as the Commander of U . S . Special Operations Command . During Brown ' s tenure as USSOCOM commander , he was involved in the aftermath of the Pat Tillman friendly fire incident that occurred in early 2004 . He testified before the congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2007 about receiving a memo from Lt . Gen . Stanley McChrystal , then - commander of JSOC , informing Brown that it was " highly possible that Corporal Tillman was killed by friendly fire " . Ultimately , former commanding general of USASOC Lt . Gen . Philip Kensinger and other Army officers were held responsible for the mishandling of information surrounding Tillman ' s death . On November 23 , 2005 , Brown , together with U . S . Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld , and Marine Corps Commandant General Michael Hagee announced the creation of the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command ( MARSOC ) . Prior to the creation of MARSOC , the Marine Corps had not been involved in special operations , which were conducted by Army , Navy and Air Force units assigned to U . S . Special Operations Command . After the September 11 , 2001 , attacks , the Secretary of Defense had directed the Marine Corps and Brown ' s predecessor to work closer together in the Global War on Terror . This culminated in the creation of MCSOCOM Detachment One on June 19 , 2003 , shortly before Brown took command of SOCOM . It was nearly three years later on February 24 , 2006 , when MARSOC was activated at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina . After four years of leading SOCOM through the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan , President George W . Bush nominated Rear Admiral Eric T . Olson to succeed Brown as the commander of U . S . Special Operations Command on May 11 , 2007 . Brown and Olson had served at the SOCOM headquarters in Tampa together for four years , and Olson had been the deputy commander since 2003 . The change of command ceremony took place on July 9 , 2007 , at the Tampa Convention Center . It was presided over by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates . During the ceremony , Gates said , " He came to this post four years ago determined to improve the way special operators fight . He has done just that " . Over the course of his military career , Brown amassed a total of 4 , 400 hours of flight time in fixed and rotary - winged aircraft . Education . His military education included the Field Artillery Officer Advance Course , U . S . Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College . At the Army War College in 1992 , a then - Lieutenant Colonel Brown co - wrote a military studies program with future NORTHCOM commander , Victor E . Renuart , Jr . , a paper titled " Combat Search and Rescue : A Search for Tomorrow " . In it , Brown was highly critical of the United States Air Force , saying , " The U . S . Air Force is the proponent agency for search and rescue , but chose not to deploy any forces to Desert Storm " . Brown graduated from the Harvard Executive Education Program ' s National and International Security Managers Course . He received a bachelor ' s degree in history from Cameron University , as well as a master ' s degree in business from Webster University . Post - military life . In November 2007 , shortly after Brown retired from the Army , he joined the board of directors for Aurora Flight Sciences , which specializes in the scientific and military applications of robotic aircraft and aerospace vehicles . Brown is the president and founder of his own consultation firm , Tier 4 Consulting . He serves on the board of directors for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation , and the board of directors for The Protective Group , a company which specializes in developing composite armor for personnel , vehicles and aircraft . He is a senior advisor to the CEO of Smith & Wesson . Awards and honors . General Brown was awarded the following military awards and decorations : Other accolades . Shortly after his retirement , Brown was named " Patriot of the Year " for 2007 by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society , and he also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor . The following year , he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame . The Association of Special Operations Professionals named Brown " Man of the Year " in 2011 . In 2012 , the 160th SOAR compound at Fort Campbell was renamed the " Gen . Bryan " Doug " Brown Compound " in his honor .