Speakers
VADM William A. Brown, USN (Ret)
President and CEO, National Transportation Association
Vice Adm. William A. Brown retired in November 2017 after nearly 38 years of Naval service. Most recently he served as the Director for Logistics on The Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
Brown hails from Gloucester County, Virginia. An NROTC scholarship student at Virginia Military Institute, he was commissioned in in May 1980. He received a master's degree in business administration from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1990 and attended Stanford Business School Executive Training Program in 2004.
Ashore, he was assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command; the Naval Aviation Supply Office; Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Naval Supply Systems Command and Commander, Naval Air Forces. During the initial phases of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, he was the operations director at the Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia, and providing aviation logistics support to deployed aviation units.
Brown has served in a variety of sea and shore duty assignments providing him extensive logistics and management expertise. His initial sea tour was aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). He also served as Supply Officer aboard USS Leftwich (DD 984) during Operation Nimble Archer and completed his sea duty assignments as Supply Officer aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) during Operation Southern Watch in 2000.
As a three-star flag officer, Brown previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base near St Louis. He also served as director of logistics (J4) at US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, where he directed logistical support for U.S. forces assigned to the European theater of operations. Prior to assuming his position at EUCOM, he served as the Commander of the Fleet and Industrial Supply Centers as well as the Fleet Supply Officer at U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.
Brown’s most recent assignment was as Director for Logistics (J4) on the Joint Staff. As J4, he was responsible for advising the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding logistics matters pertaining to integrated logistics planning and support for global joint operations.
His numerous awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal—twice awarded. The Defense Superior Service Medal, is the United States' highest non-combat related military award and it is the highest joint service decoration. He is a qualified Naval Aviation Supply Corps Officer and Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer. Brown is a 1989 recipient of the Navy League's, Vice Admiral Robert F. Batchelder Award and was presented the Naval Postgraduate School, Distinguished Alumni Award, in 2017.
Vice Admiral Brown was named President and CEO, National Defense Transportation Association in November 2017—where he continues to serve.