Brown to command U.S. Air Forces Central

Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. took over the reins of U.S. Air Forces Central on Monday in a ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base that is steeped in tradition.

The Texas native received his third star and the command’s flag from Gen. Loyd J. Austin III, head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees all U.S. and coalition forces in 20 countries in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Brown, 52, takes over command of Air Forces Central from Lt. Gen. John W. Hesterman III, who was promoted in July 2013 to the post in Sumter.

“None of us expected back in July of 2013 that less than a year later we would be fighting in yet another war, and conducting an air campaign unlike any other air campaign in history,” Austin, a four-star Army general, said. “But that is exactly what happened.”

Air Forces Central plans, supports, coordinates and executes all Air Force air power in arguably the world’s most dangerous hot spots. It is conducting the air war in Syria and Iraq, as well as providing air assets in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Central, also based at Shaw, fills the same role for all Army forces in the area. Shaw serves as headquarters for both commands.

Brown will be stationed mostly at the command’s forward base in Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar. Army Central’s commander, Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, mostly serves at the command’s forward base in Kuwait.

Monday’s change of command ceremony was attended by military leaders from Qatar, Jordan and Egypt. Brown noted that the air strikes against the Sunni-dominated Islamic State group are being conducted along with jets from five Sunni Arab countries.

Those agreements are built and sustained by Air Forces Central.

Also attending the ceremony were U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a host of military brass, both active duty and retired, and Sumter county and city officials. Fort Jackson’s 282nd Army Band provided the music.

Brown was commissioned in 1984 as a graduate of the ROTC program at Texas Tech University, according to his biography. He has served in a variety of positions at the squadron and wing level, including an assignment to the U.S. Air Force Weapons School as an F-16 instructor.

His has served as aide-de-camp to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force; director of the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group; and deputy director, operations for U.S. Central Command. He also served as a National Defense Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Va.

Brown has commanded a fighter squadron, the U.S. Air Force Weapons School and two fighter wings. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the deputy commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command and deputy, combined force air component commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia.

The general is a command pilot with more than 2,850 flying hours, including 95 combat hours.

“I know that the chance to command at this level is not a given,” said Brown, who was joined by his wife, children, parents and friends in a cavernous hangar at Shaw used to host the 20th Fighter Wing, the nation’s largest grouping of F-16 fighter jets. “It’s totally awesome to be here today.”

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 1:03 AM with the headline "Brown to command U.S. Air Forces Central."