The Association of the U.S. Army on Oct. 1 welcomed retired Gen. Bob Brown as its new president and CEO.

Brown, a former commander of U.S. Army Pacific who joined AUSA in January as its executive vice president, succeeded retired Gen. Carter Ham, who departed Sept. 30 after leading the association for five years.

“I’m so proud to be a part of AUSA,” Brown said in an Oct. 4 address at the association’s national headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

The Army needs AUSA “now more than ever,” Brown said, adding that he recently met with senior leaders including Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, who echoed that sentiment.

“We have a tremendous vision, … and we play a huge role as the voice of the Army,” Brown said.

He pointed to the upcoming AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, scheduled for Oct. 11–13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., as an example of that role.

“It’s going to be a great meeting,” Brown said, praising the “incredible flexibility” of AUSA’s staff in planning the conference under restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brown served more than 38 years in uniform after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1981. He deployed in support of Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Prior to U.S. Army Pacific, Brown commanded the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, Georgia.

He retired in 2019 and joined AUSA first as a senior fellow before becoming the association’s executive vice president.

AUSA makes a difference, Brown said. “The better the Army is, the more they can do to deter our adversaries,” and AUSA plays a key role, he said. “You all should be proud of what you do.”