DAYTONA BEACH – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University salutes alumnus Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. on his unanimous confirmation, in a 98-0 vote by the United States Senate on June 9 as the first African American service chief in the history of the U.S. armed forces.
Brown, a 1995 master’s graduate of Embry-Riddle’s Aeronautical Science program, will serve as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force.
A command pilot with more than 2,900 flying hours, including 130 combat hours, Brown formerly served as commander of the Pacific Air Forces, air component commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and executive director of the Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, where he was responsible for more than 46,000 Airmen.
Recent events of racial injustice nationwide, highlighted by the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, prompted Brown to post a video to Twitter in which he reflected on his life as both a Black man rising through the ranks of the military and, more specifically, a Black man in America.
“General Brown is a great example of how participation in ROTC and a commitment to continuing education can create the leaders our military and industry need to become more inclusive and benefit from talents that have been overlooked or undervalued in the past.’’
