A native of Columbus, Ohio, Brigadier General Brown is a 1995 graduate of Swarthmore College. He was commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps in August 1996 and was designated an aviator in February 2000 after flight training in Pensacola, Florida and Meridian, Mississippi.

Brigadier General Brown has served as an F/A-18 pilot in the operating forces with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (All Weather) 224, as the Operations Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 12, the Commanding Officer of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115, and the Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 11. In the supporting establishment, he completed a tour as an F/A-18 instructor pilot with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One. His staff assignments include Deputy Branch Head of Aviation Manpower Support at Headquarters Marine Corps Aviation; Senior Aide to the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps; Deputy Director of the Programs, Analysis, and Evaluation Division of Headquarters Marine Corps Programs and Resources, Command Inspector General of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and Senate Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps. Brigadier General Brown’s joint assignments include two tours as a Fire Support Officer and Forward Air Controller with Naval Special Warfare Development Group. He assumed the duties of Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs, Programs and Resources in June of 2024.

Brigadier General Brown was selected as the 2017-18 Commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow at the MIT Security Studies Program. In addition, he is a graduate of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course and the Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College.