Manson K. Brown

Manson K. Brown
Manson K. Brown
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction
	In office; March 18, 2015 – January 2017
President	Barack Obama
Succeeded by	Neil Jacobs
Deputy Commandant for Mission Support
	In office; May 25, 2010 – May 30, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Personal details
Born	Manson Kevin Brown; 1956 (age 67–68); Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1978-2014
Rank	Vice Admiral
Commands held	Deputy Commandant for Mission Support; Coast Guard Pacific Area; Fourteenth Coast Guard District; MLC, Pacific
Battles/wars	September 11 attacks; Global War on Terrorism; Operation Iraqi Freedom
Awards	Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal; Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Achievement Medal; Legion of Merit; Meritorious Service Medal; Coast Guard Commendation Medal; Coast Guard Achievement Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal
Spouse(s)	Herminia Brown
Relations	3 children

Manson K. Brown (born 1956) is an American retired U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (VADM) and public official. His top military decoration is the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal. In 1994, he became the first recipient of the Coast Guard Captain John G. Witherspoon Award for Inspirational Leadership. In 2012, he was honored with the Golden Torch Award by the National Society for Black Engineers. In 2014, he was honored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People with the Meritorious Service Award, an honor annually bestowed to a service member in a policy-making position for the highest achievement in military equal opportunity. Off duty, he is an active road cyclist.

Early life and education

Brown was born in Washington, DC in 1956.^[2] He graduated in 1978 from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He also holds Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and National Resources Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is a registered professional civil engineer.

Career

U.S. Coast Guard

VADM Brown’s commands include Coast Guard Pacific Area, the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific, Sector Honolulu, and Group Charleston. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the Military Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, including duty as the Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for six months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In May 2003, he served as the Chief of Officer Personnel Management at the Coast Guard Personnel Command. From April to July 2004, he was temporarily assigned as the Senior Advisor for Transportation to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq. Working in a combat zone, he oversaw restoration of Iraq’s major transportation systems, including two major ports.

Previous tours of duty include Assistant Engineering Officer aboard the icebreaker Glacier, Project Engineer at Civil Engineering Unit Miami, Deputy Group Commander at Coast Guard Group Mayport, Engineering Assignment Officer in the Officer Personnel Division at Coast Guard Headquarters, Facilities Engineer at Support Center Alameda, and Assistant Chief, Civil Engineering Division at Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific. He commanded operations at every level, culminating as Commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, California where he oversaw all Coast Guard operational activities throughout the Pacific Rim. Building on his technical competence as a registered professional civil engineer, his last assignment on active duty was as Deputy Commandant for Mission Support in Washington, DC, where he oversaw all aspects of human resources, engineering, information technology, acquisition, and logistics support for Coast Guard operations and people throughout the globe. VADM Brown retired from the Coast Guard in May, 2014.^[3]

Commerce Department

VADM Brown was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction on March 18, 2015. In this role he strategically drove administration policy, programming, and investments for all NOAA observing systems, including in situ instruments and satellites, and the process of converting observations to predictions for environmental threats related to weather, climate, water, oceans, and space weather. He served as NOAA Deputy Administrator and Chair of NOAA’s Observing Systems Council.^[4] His service ended on January 20, 2017 with the end of the Obama Administration and Brown retired from NOAA.^[5]