Jump to content

Heidi V. Brown

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heidi V. Brown

Heidi Virginia Brown[1] (born 20 July 1959)[2] is a retired U.S. Army Major General who was the first woman to command an air defense battalion and later, in combat, an air defense brigade.

Biography

[edit]

Born in Texas[2] and raised in El Paso, Brown graduated from Austin High School in 1977.[3][4] That same year, she was nominated by Congressman Richard Crawford White to the United States Military Academy.[5] In 1981, she graduated from the second West Point class to include women.[3] In 1993, she graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.[6] Later, she earned a master's degree in education from the University of South Carolina.[7]

Brown worked at the Pentagon where she developed a computer program to identify demographic profiles of deployed Army units.[8] In September 1997, she returned to Ft. Bliss.[8] She was in charge of a PATRIOT missile battalion in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the late 1990s.[9] During this time, when she led the 2-43 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, she became the first woman to command an air defense battalion.[8][10]

In 2002, Brown became the first woman to command an air defense artillery brigade in the Army.[3] In 2003, she became the first woman to command a brigade, the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, in combat during the Iraq War.[4][11] In 2008, she took a new assignment in combat support operations.[9] Later she became the director of global operations for the U.S. Strategic Command stationed in Offutt Air Force Base.[4]

Brown retired as an Army Major General in 2017.[4] She retired to Locust Grove, Virginia.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Heidi Virginia Brown". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  2. ^ a b Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy. West Point, New York: Association of Graduates U.S.M.A. 1989. p. 887. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  3. ^ a b c Conley, Jim (2002-07-13). "Air Defense Brigade Gets 1st Woman Commander". El Paso Times. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e Burge, Daniel (2017-04-04). "Trailblazing Army Maj. Gen. Heidi Brown retires after 35 years". Army Times. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  5. ^ "West Point Appointment". El Paso Times. 1977-04-18. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "In the Service". El Paso Times. 1993-08-22. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Officer Soars as First Female Air Commander". The Odessa American. 1999-06-13. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c "Female Officer Loves a Challenge". The Times. 1999-06-14. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Roberts, Chris (2002-07-13). "'Army Community Covenant' Signed". El Paso Times. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Conley, Jim; Perez, Daniel (12 November 1998). "Bliss, Holloman Troops Pack for Persian Gulf". El Paso Times. Retrieved 15 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com. "Gulf". pp. 2A.
  11. ^ Molinar, Victoria G. (26 March 2018). "Women's History Month spotlight: Heidi Brown". El Paso Inc. Retrieved 2022-02-15.