TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --
The new vice commander
of the 72nd Air Base Wing said he is honored to serve at Tinker Air Force Base
and is impressed with the caliber of the two groups, two directorates and
various wing staff agencies he will help supervise.
“I don’t get the sense
when I go around to the different agencies in the wing that people are waiting
for things to be different,” said Col. Thomas H. Brown Jr. “People are making
the difference right now and that’s very rare and it’s a very positive energy
that the 72nd has. The Wildcatters are pretty awesome.”
In some circles, he
goes by his call sign: Bling.
The 23-year Air Force
officer started his command in July. His most recent prior post was as the
director of Manpower, Personnel and Services (A1) at Air Force Global Strike Command,
Barksdale AFB, La.
Colonel Brown entered
active duty after graduating from Tuskegee University, Ala., in 1993 with a
bachelor’s in Political Science and International Relations. He holds a
master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Webster University in St.
Louis, Mo.
The colonel has been a
senior-level executive officer in four commands. He served as executive officer
and language translator to COMAIRSOUTH (USAF 3-Star working in NATO) in Naples,
Italy, during the execution of Operation Joint Forge/Joint Guardian. He has
also served as an Air Mobility Command inspector general branch chief, Air
Combat Command deputy fighter group commander and as a CJ-7 deputy director for
COMISAF at Camp Eggers, Kabul, Afghanistan.
The vice commander
said it’s important for him and wing personnel to remember that the team
mission involves “something bigger than ourselves,” in particular supporting
one of the power projection platforms of the Air Force Sustainment Center, Navy
Strategic Communications Wing ONE and other base organizations.
“Every day while I am
here, what I will be talking about is doing whatever it takes to leave this
place better than we all found it,” he said. “I’m here to be a part of that,
and taking care of the men and women of the 72nd in the process.”
Colonel Brown grew up
in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His spouse, Eda, is from Kaiserslautern, Germany.
The couple is expecting their first child in the spring.