 He commanded the 2nd Battalion, 66th Armor, in Iraq and Kuwait during the Gulf War and returned to Kuwait as commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, in 1995.He served as Chief Historian and Commander of the United States Army Center of Military History from 1998 to 2005; however, he retired from active duty on 1 August 2004.Brown has a doctorate in history from Indiana University.