Reginald J. "Reggie" Brown (1940–2005) was

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) The assistant secretary of the army (manpower and reserve affairs), abbreviated as ASA(M&RA), is a civilian official in the United States Department of the Army. U.S. law provides that there shall be five assistant secretaries of the army appoi ...

from 2001 to 2005.

Biography

Brown was born on February 13, 1940, in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and raised in California, graduating from

El Cerrito High School El Cerrito High School is a four-year public high school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located on Ashbury Avenue in El Cerrito, California, United States and serves students from El Cerrito, a portion of eastern Richm ...

in June 1957. He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, graduating with a B.S. in 1961. Brown joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1961 and served in the Army until 1971. During this time, he earned an M.P.A. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, awarded in 1965. Brown saw duty during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and was awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

. By the time he left the Army in 1971, he had achieved the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Brown spent 1973–74 as deputy administrator in the Office of Food on the Cost of Living Council. Between 1974 and 1979, he held a number of different positions in the federal government, including as associate director for economic analysis at the Defense Manpower Commission; as principal analyst in the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. I ...

; as executive director of the President's Commission on Military Compensation; and as director of energy, chemicals, and public utilities in the Office of Price Monitoring,

Council on Wage and Price Stability Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American economist and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at Princeton University from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President Gerald Ford. He ...

. Brown left public service in 1979, joining DECA Group, Inc. as an executive vice president in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He worked there until 1982 when he became a senior fellow at the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, a position he held until 1989. Brown returned to public service in 1989 when

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

nominated him as an assistant administrator of the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

, with responsibility for the Bureau for Program and Policy Coordination. In 2001, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

named Brown

. Brown held this office from August 2001 until January 2005. After a battle with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

, Brown died in

Solomons, Maryland Solomons, also known as Solomons Island, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 1,536 in 2000. S ...

, on December 17, 2005. He is buried in the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, West Point, New York (state), New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Continental Army s ...

References

Nomination of Brown to be USAID Assistant Administrator

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Reginald J. 1940 births 2005 deaths United States Military Academy alumni African-American United States Army personnel United States Army officers Harvard Kennedy School alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Politicians from New Orleans Louisiana Republicans Nixon administration personnel Ford administration personnel George H. W. Bush administration personnel People of the United States Agency for International Development People from Alexandria, Virginia George W. Bush administration personnel United States Army civilians United States Assistant Secretaries of the Army People from Calvert County, Maryland Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Maryland Burials at West Point Cemetery