Wing commander promoted to brigadier general

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Michael O'Connor
  • 31st Fighter Wing public affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Colonel Charles Q. Brown Jr., 31st Fighter Wing commander, pinned on his first star during a promotion ceremony here Sept. 18, 2009.

Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, 3rd Air Force commander, Ramstein Air Base, Germany presided over the ceremony. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced Brig. Gen. Brown's initial nomination by President Barack Obama on May 15. Thirty-seven other Air Force colonels were also nominated.

General Brown arrived at Aviano and took command of the 31st FW in June. The general commands the only permanently assigned U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft wing in NATO's Southern Region. The wing conducts and supports air combat operations, and maintains munitions for NATO and has approximately 4,200 active-duty military members, nearly 300 U.S. civilians and 600 Italian civilian employees. The wing's mission is driven by two combat-ready F-16C fighter squadrons and an air control squadron.