There are many stories told of young pilots sent to Europe in World War II who quickly rose to high rank because the life expectancy of combat aircrews was so brief. George S. Brown exemplifies such an individual: he graduated from West Point in 1941 and three years later was a full colonel. On one of his most famous missions he led his bomb group over Ploesti and won a Distinguished Service Cross. The downside of such a situation was that it took him an additional 15 years to receive his next promotion. In those intervening years Brown served as commander of bomber, transport, and fighter units; was assistant operations officer of the Far East Air Forces during the Korean War; and became the executive officer for Air Force Chief of Staff Thomas White. After two years in this last position, Brown received his first star and became the military assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. After leaving the Pentagon in 1963 as a major general, Brown became the commander of Twentieth Air Force (airlift) for two years and then returned to the Pentagon as special assistant to the chairman of the JCS (Gen Earle Wheeler). Promoted to full general, he was sent to Vietnam in 1968 to command the Seventh Air Force. Interestingly, as he left for Vietnam, thenAir Force Chief of Staff John Ryan told Brown he was being groomed to take over as chief a few years hence. As a result, when Brown returned to the States in 1970, he was named commander of Air Force Systems Command, "to make him well rounded." As promised, when Ryan retired in 1972, Brown was named chief. After less than nine months in that position, however, Brown was elevated to JCS chairman, the first airman to hold that position since Nate Twining 15 years earlier. During his tenure as chairman, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fell; SALT II was negotiated; Cyprus erupted; the Mayaguez was stormed; and an Army officer was hacked to death by North Koreans. In addition, Brown found himself in hot water on two occasions when he gave speeches interpreted as "antiIsrael." Although some called for his immediate dismissal, the chairman survived these incidents. Unfortunately, he did not survive cancer. Like Hoyt Vandenberg two decades before, Brown's last months in office were spent in constant pain. George Brown retired in June 1978 and died of cancer six months later.
The only biography of Brown is by Edgar F. Puryear, Jr.: George S. Brown, General, U. S. Air Force: Destined for Stars (Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1983). Puryear wanted to know what made Brown so successful, and concluded it was his honesty, integrity, sincerity, and intelligence. As a result of this focus, this work is more of a character study than it is a biography. Puryear relies on scores of interviews that relate what Brown was like, how he interacted with his superiors and subordinates, how he managed his staff meetings, etc. This focus on George Brown the man and the officer omits, however, the actual environment in which he worked and the problems he had to address. What we have is a seemingly endless stream of anecdotes and testimonials regarding the general's personality, but precious few facts on what precisely he was doing as a senior leader. For example, Brown was the assistant operations officer for the Far East Air Forces during the second year of the Korean War. Puryear relates how he interacted with his colleagues and what they thought of him, but there is scarcely any discussion of the war. Issues such as the close air support controversy with the Army and Marines, and the definition of "coordination control" with the Navy are not even mentioned. The result is a somewhat unsatisfactory character sketch devoid of substance.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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