The Making of a Black Chief
“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.” Romans 13:7 NKJV
(Bible Gateway, n.d.)
It is my intent in this chapter to give honor to General Charles Q. Brown, the Air Force’s first African American Chief of Staff. To the best of my ability, I will share what I believe are the key ingredients of his success. Gen. Brown’s selection to be Chief of Staff is no fluke or “diversity” hire. Many of Gen. Brown’s qualifications are well documented in a chapter that I wrote about him in “Black Pilot.” However, there are some other qualifications that I don’t think most readers are aware of that I believe caused him to not only thrive in the Air Force but be selected to serve in its highest post.
The following is a quote from the “Black Ceiling” chapter entitled “It Takes Most of the Same Ingredients”:
“In my research for this book, I have discovered that it takes most of the same ingredients to make a general officer, whether that officer is white or black. The making of a four-star is not a mystery; the pattern has been the same since WWII. We have seen in the Creech system and as far back as the careers of Eisenhower and Marshall that these ingredients include door opening, mentoring, top-cover, combat operations experience, and being placed in the right jobs where talent can be observed.” (Thompson, The Air Force's Black Ceiling, 2016)
In “Black Ceiling,” I said that it takes “most of the same ingredients” to make a black general as it takes to make a white one and then proceeded to list the ingredients. The word “most” is the operative word because I believe there is another ingredient that must be included for an African American man or woman to make it to the Air Force’s highest ranks.
I believe that in addition to leadership in combat operations (fighter pilots for the Air Force), mentoring, and door opening, you must add the ability to successfully navigate Air Force culture, i.e., white male-dominated culture. It is my belief that this final ingredient is the difference-maker for black men and women to have stellar career success in the Air Force. It is Gen. Brown’s skill in this area that helped him become the Air Force’s first black Chief of Staff.
Leadership In Combat Operations
I have had three black Air Force four-stars disagree with me and even mildly scold me about focusing on combat operations/fighter pilots. So, I’d like to briefly revisit my rationale. Without this understanding, the reader will never fully grasp what it takes to make a black Chief of Staff in today’s Air Force. I’d like to start with a quote from Lt. Gen. Hopper, a command pilot with over 4,000 flying hours in cargo aircraft, tankers, executive transport, and helicopters, but not fighters:
“First, I think your research and subsequent publications highlight the critical path of growing a diverse group of leaders for the 21st century. It's clear the broadest road to the executive suite is through operations. For the Army and Marine Corps, it's the MOS's that comprise the ‘Combat Arms.’ For the Navy, it is ‘Sea Duty,’ whether that is afloat, submerged, or flying above, for our Air Force, it is flyers (although in my view, we are the most tribal, and all flyers are not created equal).” (Hopper Jr., 2021)
Here’s an excerpt from “Black Pilot,” in which the Air Force candidly shares where it looks to find its senior leaders. The excerpt also includes a quote from Gen. Darren McDew, a retired black four-star pilot who also flew cargo aircraft, tankers, executive transport, and helicopters, but not fighters:
“‘As the Air Force often draws many of its leaders from operational career fields, this initiative will strengthen talent pipelines, improve retention in these critical areas, and increase the diversity of the candidate pool for senior leadership positions.’ (USAF Diversity & Inclusion Fact Sheet, 2016)
‘The Air Force, with few exceptions, traditionally has drawn its top leaders from combat pilots, especially those who fly fighter jets… But the surest path to the top, as in the Army, is leading front-line combat units…We're not that much different than the Army in that the combat arms part of our Air Force has traditionally been where we have drawn our most senior leaders,’ said Gen. Darren McDew…” (USA Today) (Brook, 2015)” (Thompson, The Air Force's Black Pilot Training Experience, 2018)
Historically the combat arms ingredient has looked different as it shows up in the resumes of the most successful black and white fighter pilots. For black pilots, even black fighter pilots such as Gen. Brown, the combat arms ingredient must be seasoned with a little bit of what I have referred to as the “back door.” The fact that Gen. Brown never served on the ACC staff or commanded a premier fighter wing in the CONUS is such a departure from the path traveled by most white men who have served as the Air Force Chief of Staff that at first glance, it looks like a back door.
There have been non-fighter pilot Chiefs of Staff that have taken different paths, but in the Air Force’s history, the overwhelming majority of white male fighter pilots who have become Chief of Staff have traveled down similar, nearly cookie-cutter paths (commanded a premier CONUS bomber/fighter wing equivalent, served as a general officer on the TAC/ACC, SAC staff, commanded USAFE, TAC/ACC, SAC, commanded flying forces in Iraq). Former CSAFs, Generals Moseley and Welsh, never served on the ACC staff, but each commanded a CONUS Wing/Wing Equivalent.
Because Gen. Brown served as the Commandant of the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis and commanded the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan AB and the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano, AB, it may seem terribly unfair to say that anything in his stellar career represents a back door. That is until you look at the aggregate resumes of the four black fighter pilot four-stars in Air Force history. None of them have commanded one of the premier CONUS Fighter Wings that I identified in the chapter entitled “Outposts of Whiteness,” and none of them ever served on the HQ TAC/ACC staff.
Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton, and Gen. Brown, the four greatest black fighter pilots in Air Force history, all obtained four-star rank and were history-makers in their own way. If you were to lay out their career paths side-by-side with their white fighter pilot counterparts that made four-star rank and achieved notoriety in some significant way in the annals of Air Force history, the difference would be quite clear. It’s as if an invisible “detour” sign around the Air Force’s premier CONUS Fighter Wings and HQ TAC/ACC had been erected and still actively directs the Air Force’s most talented black fighter pilots around it.
I have made such a point of highlighting the difference in Gen. Brown’s path that I don’t want to risk implying that he is less qualified than his CSAF predecessors. Quite the opposite. In “Black Pilot,” I devoted an entire chapter to Gen. Brown, highlighting his “firsts.” He was the first African American to command fighter forces in a major U.S. conflict in Iraq. He was the first African- American to command combat flying forces in a major theater as the commander of PACAF.
By highlighting the difference in Gen. Brown’s path, I’m actually saying that he had to overcome greater odds to reach the same objective. Gen. Brown commanded the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan, AB, Korea. Many notable Air Force leaders, including the legendary Robin Olds, have commanded this wing en route to three and four-star rank. Here are the former 8th FW/CCs who, along with Gen. Brown, have attained four-star rank:
Former 8th Fighter Wing Commanders:
Gen. William W. Momyer ACC/CC
Gen. Patrick Gamble PACAF/CC
Gen. Mark Welsh USAFE/CC, CSAF
Gen. Gary North PACAF/CC
Gen. Philip M. Breedlove USAFE/CC, Supreme
Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)
Gen. Robin Rand AFGSC/CC
In “Black Ceiling,” I included a table that showed the career paths of every CSAF since 1982. One thing was clear in most of their assignments, as senior officers, they were assigned close “to the fight.” This is consistent with the Air Force placing a high value on leadership in a combat environment/combat arms experience. During the Cold War, this would have been in Germany with a key assignment in Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).
Since the Gulf War, however, most of our Chiefs of Staff have some connection with fighting forces in Iraq or the U.S. Air Forces Central Command (CENTCOM) staff. General Brown is no exception.
Gen. Brown was assigned to the current operations division at U.S. CENTCOM headquarters. He left that job and was assigned to Shaw Air Force Base (AFB), which had deployment responsibilities in the combat theater in Iraq. As early as 2000, he was flying combat missions in Iraq. (Fikes, Charles Quinton Brown Jr., 2020)
By 2003 he had taken command of a fighter squadron in the 20th Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air Force Biographies, n.d.) “Squadrons from the 20th Fighter Wing were part of an Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF).” These forward-deployed F-16 squadrons were flying missions in Iraq for the 363rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.” (CNN, n.d.)
His assignment to Shaw AFB was a critical one during the post-911 environment where Iraq had become the center of the fight. In this assignment, Gen. Brown gained experience as a squadron commander in a deployed/combat environment.
Gen. Brown also had the very elite distinction of having the title “Commander US Forces” in an active combat theatre in Iraq which was like the gold seal of approval during the Gulf War. Other notable leaders that had the same responsibility (with varying titles) in the Gulf also went on to achieve four-star rank. Four of them (including Gen. Brown) became CSAF. In fact, four of the last six CSAFs had this noteworthy command responsibility:
I would assert that the Air Force considered leading combat operations in an active combat theater almost on the same level of importance as commanding a Major Air Command (MAJCOM). What’s the evidence of this? Two of the men on this very distinctive list became Chief of Staff of the Air Force without commanding a MAJCOM, Generals Moseley and Goldfein.
If you want to know what an organization values? Look at who it promotes. The leadership roster and the promotion lists are a reflection of the values, priorities, and culture of an organization. In the Air Force, the highest value is, and has always been, leaders who command flying forces, especially flying forces in combat.
Door Opening
“‘[Door opening is] providing opportunity for an individual. The more I’ve thought about mentoring in practical terms, the more I realize it involves teaching and door opening,’ said retired general Edward C. ‘Shy’ Meyer. What Meyer meant by opening doors was providing the opportunities for assignments that might assist in professional growth. This usually resulted in getting the toughest and most demanding jobs.’ (Edgar F. Puryear, 2003)…
Puryear’s research shows that general officers are made, not born. If we want to see more black general officers, then someone is going to have to decide to deliberately develop one from his or her selection as a fighter pilot, through all the steps that have been proven over and over in the making of white general officers.”
In Gen. Brown’s career, we see assignment opportunities at the highest levels, even at the earliest stages of his career. One of his most notable assignments was his selection to serve as the aide-de-camp to the Air Force Chief of Staff as a 10-year captain. He served as aide-de-camp for Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman.
“When Fogleman got the job as chief of staff, he interviewed several candidates for the job of aide de camp. Brown wound up on top.
‘I think he was a superb aide. I tried to include him in everything so as part of the experience of being an aide he would sit in on high-level meetings, see how different individuals, different senior officers with different personalities interfaced,’ said Fogleman, 78, of Durango, Colo.” (Christenson, San Antonio Native to Become the First African-American to Lead the Air Force, 2020)
I don’t know if Gen. Brown was the first black aide-de-camp to an Air Force Chief of staff in 1994, but I would be willing to guess that he was the first black fighter pilot aide-de-camp to a Chief of Staff. I checked the bios of the other African Americans to hold four-star rank and saw similar patterns.
Gen. Darren McDew was selected as “Air Force aide to the President” in 1994 at the 12-year point in his career. (U.S. Air Force Biographies, n.d.) Gen. Edward Rice Jr. was selected for the Air Staff Training program, “ASTRA,” as a captain with six years’ time in grade. (U.S. Air Force Biographies, n.d.)
In a “Black Ceiling” chapter entitled “Go Find Me a Major,” I showed how many of the Air Force leaders were fast-tracked as captains and junior majors:
“As I studied the paths of the Creech protégés, the officers who became CSAFs as part of his system, the thing that stood out to me the most was how relatively junior officers were identified for selection to key jobs on the TAC or in particular the HQ USAF staff.
I wondered how does a senior captain or junior major come to be known as a shiny penny, an up-and-comer?… many of the Air Force’s best and brightest officers—its future Commanders of TAC/ACC, and its future CSAFs—were identified at an early point in their career and then subsequently ‘developed.’ Most of these men had the distinct and very rare privilege of serving as an aide or executive officer to a very senior officer or civilian. From this perch, they were allowed to see how executive-level decisions were made on resources, personnel, strategic planning, etc.
These senior assistants were also confidants often being entrusted with knowledge about who was being promoted and who wasn’t, the future vision/goals of the organization before they became public, etc. They were the proverbial ‘fly on the wall’ when their bosses were talking with their bosses, often the highest echelons of DoD leadership. The talents and abilities of these aides and execs were also being put on display to all the senior leaders of the organization--leaders that would be in place when their current boss left and that would potentially have direct input to their promotions.
It is easy to see that serving in the role of aide or exec would produce a decided career advantage for anyone who was selected to serve in it.” (Thompson, The Air Force's Black Ceiling, 2016)
If we marry Gen. Fogleman’s comments about Gen. Brown to the quote above, we can see that Gen. Brown’s early exposure to behind-the-scenes operations at the highest levels of the Air Force did ultimately pay off. But how was Gen. Brown identified so early as a high-potential talent?
Based on my experience studying the careers of pilots, I had a theory that a person could be such an exceptional pilot that his name could surface to higher command levels, even as a captain. Such proved to be the case for Gen. Brown. In the quote below, Gen. Robin Rand confirms the prowess of Gen. Brown as an F-16 pilot. I believe his skill as a pilot was one of the things that got him on the radar of Air Force senior leaders:
“Brown comes from a fighter pilot background and is considered by commanders as one of the Air Force’s best aviators. He has flown a wide variety of aircraft, including three versions of the F-16, and 15 other planes and helicopters. He’s logged 130 hours in combat.
Rand, who headed the Air Force Global Strike Command before retiring, recalled that both he and Brown flew the F-16, which they called the Viper…
Rand was the weapon’s schools’ operations officer at Nellis, and Brown was an instructor…
That Brown returned to teach at the Weapons School ‘means in my humble opinion, he was the best of the best,’ Rand said, but noted that his friend wasn’t finished with the school. He later came back as its commandant.
‘He’s a world class Viper driver. He’s the top 1 percent of combat test Viper pilots,’ Rand said.” (Christenson, San Antonio Native to Become the First African-American to Lead the Air Force, 2020)
Gen. Brown’s selection to be the Air Force Weapon’s School commandant further corroborates Gen. Rand’s comments about his prowess as a pilot. Here’s an excerpt from an Air Force Magazine article on the Weapons School that describes the caliber of Weapons School graduates:
“Today’s Air Force Weapons School builds on that tradition, taking some of the service’s most promising Airmen out of operational commands and putting them through some of the most intense graduate-level training anywhere to teach them how to apply their specialized skills in combat—and how to teach others to do the same.
Weapons School graduates are like the Ph.D.s of combat training, carrying a patch and prestige that stays with them throughout their careers. Among its notable graduates is Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.—a Weapons School graduate-turned-instructor-turned-commandant who went on to become Air Force Chief of Staff.” (Oprihory, 2020)
After commanding the 8th Fighter Wing Gen. Brown was selected for another top-tier job as Director, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group. This is a high-visibility, fast-action job working closely with the senior staff of the Air Force. His selection for this job was an indication that other doors, high-profile doors, would open to him/for him in the future. One thing that I have observed with those that are on the fast track is that their trajectory is steep. They keep getting tough job after tough job and rarely lateral or plateau.
I’d like to focus on the portion of Gen. Brown’s career from May 2011 to Feb 2014. This stretch of his career is the most fascinating to me and arguably, outside his selection as Chief of Staff, the most historic. Gen. Brown worked for two years as the Deputy Director in U.S. CENTCOM’s Operations Directorate. He had key responsibilities in prosecuting the war in Iraq. He was, as I previously stated, working close to the fight. He later moved to what I believe was one of the most significant jobs for any African American in recent Air Force history.
Gen. Brown was selected to become the Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command. He was in charge of leading the entire air war in Iraq. I believe that the opening of this door made him a lock for MAJCOM command and a serious competitor for Chief of Staff. (U.S. Air Force Biographies, n.d.)
I had originally planned for my review of Gen. Brown’s work in CENTCOM to be the finishing touch on this discussion of door opening, mentoring, and grooming. But as I was glancing at Gen. Brown’s bio, I noticed that sandwiched in between 4 years and nine months of CENTCOM assignments was an assignment to USAFE. And it wasn’t just any USAFE assignment. It was an assignment involving nuclear deterrence.
“May 2011 - May 2013, Deputy Director, Operations Directorate, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
May 2013 - February 2014, Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia
March 2014 - June 2015, Director, Operations, Strategic Deterrence, and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa, Ramstein AB, Germany
June 2015 - July 2016, Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Air Combat Command, Southwest Asia
July 2016 - July 2018, Deputy
Commander, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Feb. 28, 1985
First Lieutenant Feb. 28, 1987
Captain Feb. 28, 1989
Major Aug. 1, 1996
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 1999
Colonel June 1, 2005
Brigadier General Nov. 20, 2009
Major General July 3, 2013
Lieutenant General June 29, 2015
General July 26, 2018” (U.S. Air Force Biographies, n.d.)
It was as if someone said, “let’s get some USAFE ‘stink’ (Air Force slang) on him and some experience with nuclear issues.” Following this line of thinking, the powers that be then slid him out as a major general over for a quick 15-month assignment in USAFE where he could, in one assignment get some familiarization with USAFE and nuclear issues as part of his grooming for Chief of Staff. Does that sound like a reach? Here’s a quote from Edgar Puryear that I used in “Black Ceiling” that describes how Gen. George Brown was deliberately developed to become the Chief of Staff:
“Puryear gives more insight into the type of deliberate development, door opening, mentoring that Gen. George Brown received en route to becoming the Chief of Staff of the Air Force:
‘Gen. George Brown over why he thought he was selected to be the Air Force Chief of Staff: Oh, I never thought about it. I have no idea. Perhaps I was the best choice among my contemporaries. I started out in bombardment … and I got into everything else except Logistics and Systems Command. I’d been in Vietnam a year when Ryan visited us. He was then vice chief and had been nominated to be chief. He told me that I was going to follow him as chief of staff. [He told me] before he became chief, and I said, ‘Jack, look don’t say that, because you don’t have to make a decision now. Keep your options open.’ He said, ‘No, your selection is obvious, assuming you don’t stub your toe, and your health is all right. But I want you to know now, because I want you to start thinking about it, and to think in such a way that you prepare yourself mentally for it. Considering the jobs I had held and the exposure I had gained, it appeared quite evident that I was being prepared, although I had never thought about it until he mentioned it; it had never occurred to me. But I had been executive to the chief of staff and executive to the secretary of defense for four years. Then, I went to MAC [Military Airlift Command], MATS {Materiel Air Transport Command], the Joint Task Force, and here as assistant to the chairman of the JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] for two years, and finally to Vietnam. So I knew the game around this town pretty well, on the Hill and in the Pentagon, and at State, and the National Security Council from my experience here with the chairman. And I’d been on the Policy Planning Board at State, where I was thrown in with a lot of people in high government positions today, like national security adviser Berezniki. We were in Washington D.C., for a conference, and Jack Ryan got me in a corner and said, ‘You’re coming home and you’re going to Systems Command.’ I replied, ‘I don’t know a damn thing about Systems Command.’ And he said, ‘That’s precisely why you’re going.’” (Edgar F. Puryear, 2003) (Thompson, The Air Force's Black Ceiling, 2016)
If you look back in time, from the vantage point of Gen. Brown’s selection as Chief of Staff, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched that his USAFE/nuclear assignment was most definitely a grooming step for his ascension to CSAF. I now believe that Gen. Brown’s selection as the PACAF Commander was also a calculated grooming step along his path to the nomination for CSAF.
I had previously looked down on high-level assignments to PACAF for several reasons: PACAF was away from “the fight”/active combat theatre, and very few generals made it to CSAF after commanding PACAF. Now I can see that, with the PACAF assignment, Gen. Brown truly had everything in place to be, as Defense Secretary Mark Esper described, “exceptionally qualified to serve as the next Air Force Chief of Staff.” (Harkins, 2020)
While it was true that two recent CSAFs didn’t have MAJCOM command on their resumes, I believe as an African American, Gen. Brown may have had to be even more qualified to become competitive for nomination to the Air Force’s top post.
“For decades, black parents have told their children that in order to succeed despite racial discrimination, they need to be ‘twice as good’: twice as smart, twice as dependable, twice as talented. This advice can be found in everything from literature to television shows, to day-to-day conversation. Now, a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that when it comes to getting and keeping jobs, that notion might be more than just a platitude.
There’s data that demonstrates the unfortunate reality: Black workers receive extra scrutiny from bosses, which can lead to worse performance reviews, lower wages, and even job loss. The NBER paper, authored by Costas Cavounidis and Kevin Lang, of Boston University, attempts to demonstrate how discrimination factors into company decisions, and creates a feedback loop, resulting in racial gaps in the labor force…
In order to keep a job, black workers also must meet a higher bar. Only in instances where black workers are monitored and displayed a significantly higher skill level than their white counterparts would they stand a significant chance of keeping their jobs for a while, the researchers found. But even in instances where the productivity of black workers far exceeded their white counterparts, there was still evidence that discrimination persisted, which could lead to lower wages or slower promotions.” (White G. B., 2015)
Gen. Brown expressed similar sentiments related to the notion that African Americans need to work “twice as hard” to prove themselves worthy:
“I’m thinking about the pressure I felt to perform error-free, especially for supervisors I perceived had expected less from me as an African American. I’m thinking about having to represent by working twice as hard to prove their expectations and perceptions of African Americans were invalid.” (Bekiempis, 2020)
I close this segment on door opening and grooming with a reflection that is a contradiction of sorts to what I have previously written. In several places, I have pointed out the glaring absence of black general officers on the TAC/ACC staff. But as I look at Gen. Brown’s resume, I realize that CENTCOM may have become the new TAC/ACC in terms of significant assignments required to reach the Air Force’s highest posts.
In many ways serving on the CENTCOM staff during a time of active conflict allowed Gen. Brown to be closer to the fight and provided more joint combat experience than serving on the ACC staff. So perhaps instead of seeing Gen. Brown as banished and prevented from being on the ACC staff, I should look at him as being in the best possible grooming environment for future leadership of the Air Force.
Acculturation
“‘It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.’ W.E.B. Du Bois (DuBois, 1903)
Over a hundred years ago, in his book ‘The Souls of Black Folk,’ W.E.B. Du Bois tried to describe an issue that African Americans still wrestle with today as they try to navigate majority culture while still maintaining the identity forged in the culture that they were raised in. Du Bois called this struggle ‘double-consciousness’ or ‘two-ness.’” (DuBois, 1903) (Thompson, The Air Force's Black Ceiling, 2016)
“General C.Q. Brown: There’s a world that I live in as an African American and there’s a world that I also live in as a minority inside the United States Air Force.” (Martin, Race in the Ranks: Investigating Racial Bias in the U.S. Military, 2021)
“I'm thinking about a history of racial issues and my own experiences that didn't always sing of liberty and equality…I'm thinking about living in two worlds each with their own perspective and views…I'm thinking about our two sons and how we had to prepare them to live in two worlds.” General Charles Q. Brown (American Rhetoric, 2020)
I have detailed Gen. Brown’s leadership in combat operations, the significant doors of opportunity that were opened for him, and the grooming assignments that were afforded him to be competitive for a CSAF nomination. If Gen. Brown were a white fighter pilot, I would not need to go further in this chapter. However, because he is a minority officer in a white male-dominated culture, I must proceed further.
I do not believe that Gen. Brown would have become the Air Force’s “first” black CSAF without his ability to successfully navigate the Air Force’s white male-dominated culture, the even less diverse culture of the Air Force fighter pilot community, and the Air Force’s ultra-exclusive, ultra-white fighter pilot general officer community.
I spent a lot of time in “Black Pilot” talking about acculturation. In surveys of black pilots, I asked questions about what percentage of black people were in their neighborhoods, high schools, and colleges. The premise was that navigating majority culture is a skill that must be learned and that the first places it is learned are with the people we interact with in our neighborhoods and schools.
More specifically, I postulated that black men and women who grew up in predominantly black neighborhoods, went to predominantly black high schools, and went to Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs) would be at a disadvantage in navigating cultures/environments that were predominantly white. The theory is that they would have very few opportunities to learn how to operate in these environments.
Retired Col. Gail Benjamin Colvin graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1980, the first USAFA class with female graduates. She was the first African American female USAFA graduate and was recently honored as a USAFA Distinguished Graduate. In her acceptance speech, she shared that many of her USAFA classmates were not ready for female grads or ready for black female grads.
What enabled her to succeed and become a first? I believe the ingredients are found in her upbringing. She learned how to navigate majority culture and find success within it as a child in school:
“I’m a New York City girl. And I truly embrace all of the city, everything about it, because I have a connection to almost every borough. Born in Harlem, and even though we moved away from Harlem when I was young, I really maintained a connection to Harlem. We then moved to Brooklyn, the borough of Brooklyn, and I was raised, school years, mostly in the Red Hook projects. It was an interesting project because it was very diverse. But my parents, using all the resources they had, really tried to make sure that we had the best education they could afford. This often meant we were going to school outside of the projects. And that we were taking public transportation to go to other schools. And that oftentimes, we were the only ones of color in that school system. And so, I think at an early age, I also gained an appreciation for what it’s like to be the only, to be other. And that was ok.” (US Air Force Academy Association of Graduates, 2021)
In “Black Pilot,” I went so far as to say, “I believe that for some minority students, navigating majority culture may be as critical a skill as operating the flight controls and instrumentation. It is an additional skill that students from the majority white culture do not need to learn.”
For my white readers who may have trouble trying to grasp why this would be difficult, imagine yourself as a typical white, middle-class student who grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and went to a predominantly white high school attending Howard University. Howard University, as an HBCU, is a mostly black university, with likely a majority-black faculty in an urban environment in Washington, D.C. Imagine your daily commute through the inner-city to get to class, buy groceries, do laundry, find entertainment (movie theaters, malls, restaurants). Imagine yourself in the hallways walking to class as a person noticeably in the minority.
What kind of familiar cultural signposts are readily available to you? Where would you find the types of things you needed, relative to your upbringing, to provide identity-security, and even emotional well-being? How would you learn to find them in an environment totally foreign to the one in which you grew up if you had never had practice? How would you feel? My guess is lost.
Lost is the word that comes to mind when I think of someone who has suddenly found themselves in the mirror, opposite of the culture that they grew up in. They have to relearn how to make friends, socialize, learn what’s acceptable in terms of conversation, jokes, what’s considered “cool” in terms of music, TV/movies, sports. They must learn how success is defined obtained and, how to get help and who to get it from.
The scenario I created was fictional, but I later found a similar example from the minority attrition in pilot training research that I previously referred to from Dr. Carl Bryant. In the report, Dr. Bryant shared the experience of one of his white team members:
“However, as one of our white team members commented after visiting a predominantly black college campus, ‘This is different. The people were all very friendly, but I was acutely aware that everywhere I looked, there was no one who looked like me.’ This experience, although unique for the team member, is an everyday occurrence for blacks attending UFT.” (Bryant, et al., 1992)
Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of human needs is helpful here in describing the kinds of needs that people have when they are thrust into a majority culture in which they have little experience navigating. In Maslow’s hierarchy, those needs are physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. (Interaction Design Foundation, 2016)
As an African American, I have at times felt concerned for my safety/security when I am in an environment with an overwhelming majority of white people. These feelings were the direct result of my upbringing. Which includes the neighborhoods I grew up in, the schools I attended, and all the things that my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents taught me or experienced. Later, as I had more experience living in and navigating majority culture, concerns for my safety diminished.
According to Maslow, after my safety/security needs were met, I would seek to meet higher needs:
“Social (or Love and Belonging) Needs – The human animal is a social one and there is a deep-seated requirement for company in life. Social needs include friends, lovers, intimacy, families, communities, relationships and a sense of belonging.
Esteem Needs – Basic social needs become more complex for people and there is a need for our efforts to be recognized by others. Esteem needs may be fulfilled by social status, achievements, mastery, prestige, etc.
Self-Actualized Needs – The final, top layer of the hierarchy, is associated with our ability to grow as an individual. These needs include peace, contentment, self-growth, maximum experiences, etc.” (Interaction Design Foundation, 2016)
Each culture has its own norms, written and unwritten, its own reward systems and values. As a minority inserted into an unfamiliar new majority-dominated culture, I have to learn anew how to meet my social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. What if aspects of the majority culture had built-in, visible or invisible, intentional or unintentional barriers to achieving these higher-order needs? It is not hard to project the impact on the individual’s psyche and sense of self-worth if these needs were difficult to meet or entirely obstructed.
I believe Gen. Brown was able to successfully overcome the formidable obstacles embedded within the Air Force’s culture and its fighter pilot subculture because of his somewhat unique upbringing. I must emphasize this crucial point before detailing his upbringing, as I believe that it might be difficult to replicate in the future.
I don’t believe that many African Americans in the Air Force or even in America have had the benefit of the type of upbringing that Gen. Brown had. I believe his upbringing was a key ingredient in his ability to learn how to assimilate into and excel in the Air Force’s majority culture. It gave him a leg up over many African Americans, certainly in his generation and perhaps even subsequent generations. A failure to understand this key ingredient in his success will lead to faulty assumptions on how to replicate the type of success he had.
Military “Brat”
Earlier in this book, I identified something that many of the most senior African American male and female general officers had in common, parents who served in the military. Gen. Brown is no different. Like those of the other general officers that I have shared, I think Gen. Brown’s family legacy is a critical element of understanding his ability to successfully navigate majority culture in the Air Force.
Gen. Brown’s grandfather was a Master Sergeant in WWII, likely a rare rank for an African American even in segregated units. Here is what Gen. Brown’s cousin Darrell shared in an article about the rich military legacy passed on by their grandfather:
“The Legacy of MSgt Robert Brown Jr.
On December 1, 1943, during the height of World War II, Robert E. Brown Jr. was drafted into the U.S. Army. Robert Brown served in the segregated 576th Port Battalion, which was charged with loading and unloading war materials in Hawaii and Saipan. Rising to the rank of Master Sergeant, he led over 1500 men, requisitioned cranes and forklifts, and tracked incoming and outgoing tonnage for higher headquarters. After fulfilling his enlistment, MSgt Brown turned down an opportunity for further advancement in the Army so he could return to his wife and two young sons in San Antonio, Texas.
Robert, and his wife Lillie, imparted a strong faith in God, a belief in service before self, and a relentless work ethic into their sons. Although his formal education ended at the 8th grade, Robert ensured both his sons attended, and completed college. Robert III and Charles, both graduated from Saint Mary's University in San Antonio and were the first two African Americans commissioned through the university's Army ROTC program. Like their father before them, both answered the call during a time of war and served combat tours in Vietnam. Robert and Charles made the Army their career and reached the rank of Colonel.
Col Robert E. Brown III served 28 years as a Field Artillery officer and Army Aviator. He did two tours in Vietnam, the last as a UH-1 helicopter pilot. He commanded a Field Artillery battalion in Germany and served on the senior staff at Army Training and Doctrine Command. He, and my mom, raised me, my brother David, and sister Sharon on Army posts across the US and Germany. We grew up during the Cold War and took pride in our father’s service. That sense of service and purpose led me to enter active duty, like my father, through an ROTC commission. I served 20 years as an Air Force Officer.
Col Charles Brown was commissioned a Field Artillery officer and also served as an Intelligence officer. Col Brown held various leadership positions during his 30-year career, to include command of a field artillery battalion, and Director of Resource Management for the US Army's Aviation Systems and Troop Command. He also served, with distinction, in Vietnam. He, and his wife Kay, raised their children, Charles Jr, Stephanie, and Kevin, on various Army posts in the US and Germany. Following the precedent set by his parents, Charles and Kay ensured their children grew up with a strong faith, a commitment to service, and an unwavering work ethic.
Col Brown's oldest son, Charles Jr., obtained his commission through the Air Force ROTC program at Texas Tech University, where he was a distinguished graduate. Like his father and grandfather before him, CQ served during wartime; flying combat missions over Iraq…
Throughout their career, General Brown, and his wife Sharene, have modeled the values of faith, service and resilience for their two sons, and the numerous airmen and military families they've served with. On 26 July 2018, just a few miles from where our grandfather served in a segregated unit, General Brown pinned on his 4th star, becoming just the ninth African American Air Force Officer to reach that rank.” (Brown, 2018)
There is so much to glean from Gen. Brown’s rich family legacy and how it contributed to his ability to achieve greatness and successfully navigate majority culture. The unmistakable tradition of excellence in military service is seen from Gen. Brown’s grandfather down to his uncle and father, who were both full Colonels in the Army with Vietnam combat experience in the late ‘70s to early ‘80s. Not many African Americans can say that they had a dad and uncle that were full colonels in the military at that time.
As it pertains to Gen. Brown’s career in aviation, I also find it interesting, if not significant, that his uncle was an Army aviator and his dad had at least one assignment related to the logistical support of aviation.
So, if you’re examining all the ingredients that it took to make Gen. Brown who he was, you have to take note of his role models. Gen. Brown had significant role models for success in the military right in his own family.
I often say that it was no great stretch for “Ken Griffey Jr. to imagine that he could become a professional baseball player because his dad was. It is reasonable to assume that Gen. Brown could believe that he could make at least full Colonel following the example of his father and uncle. But there is even more as it pertains to learning how to navigate majority culture.
Darrell Brown said that his father and Gen. Brown’s father were “firsts.” They were the first two African Americans to be commissioned in Saint Mary's University’s Army ROTC program in San Antonio. Their accomplishments set a pattern and a legacy for being a “first” for future generations. But another way of saying that the two Browns were firsts is saying that they were the only blacks to be commissioned in the ROTC program that year. I believe that they learned lessons on how to fit in and succeed when you are in the overwhelming minority. I believe these lessons were passed down to Gen. Brown.
On top of the acculturation lessons that were passed down, Gen. Brown grew up in an environment that forced him to have experience navigating majority culture. Darrell Brown said that Gen. Brown was raised “on various Army posts in the U.S. and Germany.” (Brown, 2018)
Here’s some insight in Gen. Brown’s own words on the acculturation experiences and lessons he learned as a child:
“I’m thinking about my sister and I being the only African-Americans in our entire elementary school and trying to fit in.
I’m thinking about then going to a high school where roughly half the students were African-American and trying to fit in.” (American Rhetoric, 2020)
I believe that the “how to” acculturation lessons passed on to Gen. Brown by his dad and uncle, formally and intentionally or just “caught” as we sometimes say, combined with his experience growing up in majority culture, prepared him for what he would experience in the Air Force as a black officer and fighter pilot. Gen. Brown’s description of his experience as a black Air Force officer and aviator mirrors the description of his experiences growing up as an Army brat:
“I’m thinking about my Air Force career where I was often the only African-American in my squadron or as a senior officer, the only African-American in the room.
I’m thinking about wearing the same flight suit with the same wings on my chest as my peers and then being questioned by another military member, ‘…are you a pilot?’
I'm thinking about my mentors and how I rarely had a mentor that looked like me.” (American Rhetoric, 2020)
“Good Dude Factor”
I have used the word acculturation, W.E.B. Du Bois used the word two-ness to describe the dance, the art of being from one culture yet successfully navigating another. Two Air Force officers, Nathan Dial and Daniel Walker have coined the term “good dude factor” to describe what it takes for African Americans to be successful in pilot training. (Dial & Walker, Institutional racism is boring, 2020)
I believe all the things that I have said about Gen. Brown’s life experiences with majority culture positioned him perfectly to have a high “good dude factor.”
“In the 21st century, institutional racism is boring and easy to miss. Our combined 18 years of experience as Air Force pilots has led us to conclude that racism, in an Air Force flying squadron, revolves around our inability to fully possess what we would call the ‘good dude factor’ (GDF).
In a flying squadron, the GDF is a three-part concept that requires an individual to blend in with the community socially, be operationally competent and positively impact the organization. The GDF is a necessary characteristic to maximize opportunities in the Air Force.
A leadership theory developed by social psychologists John R.P. French and Bertram Raven in the late 1950s and early ’60s details six bases of power: coercion, reward, legitimate, expert, referent and informational. The GDF is a combination of referent and expert power. Referent power emanates from being highly liked and comfortable around peers, subordinates and superiors. Leaders with referent power are seen as role models. Expert power is an in-depth knowledge of the organization’s core tasks. Leaders with expert power persuade organizations through their performance and skill sets…
Institutional racism is boring because gatekeepers hold the referent power to sabotage, without fanfare, an individual who otherwise meets all qualifications. Daniel experienced this when his second-in-command told him that, although his flying skills were superior, he would be ‘weeded out’ of the F-22 community if he did not subdue his personality. Daniel’s presence made his superiors feel uncomfortable. This is unsurprising, given only 1 percent of the Air Force’s fighter pilots are Black. The gatekeepers saw his confidence as an unacceptable bravado, making them unable to see him as a role model.
Institutional racism is easy to miss because even with the credentials and experience exhibiting expert power, airmen’s voices can be quieted based on the GDF. Nathan experienced this when his commander questioned his admittance into an elite Air Force academic program that develops future strategic leaders. Nathan’s blackness blinded his commander’s ability to see and appreciate his qualifications. It took advocates from outside of his unit for his orders to be approved.
In the Air Force, everything from administering punishments to offering opportunities is dependent on an individual’s GDF…
We first learned that our blackness limits our GDF during our four years at the Air Force Academy. Boring racism exists at USAFA because some classmates, superiors and subordinates with referent power attributed our opportunities there to a non-existent Black quota system that took away opportunities for qualified white cadets. Despite Nathan’s superior performance and Daniel’s below-average performance there, we came up short of obtaining the universal GDF.
Boring racism is common at pilot training. For the opportunity to obtain the GDF, instructors required we smile and raise our voices’ pitch, so we did not intimidate others when we spoke. Despite Daniel’s superior performance and Nathan’s below-average performance, our instructors told us we would have been better off had we blended in more. They informed us that to gain the GDF, in the operational Air Force, we had to hide stereotyped hallmarks of blackness by any means necessary.
Over our Air Force careers, the only time we blend in is when our aircraft are wheels up. Although our flying hours are rewarding, mission accomplishments lose their luster when we return to the squadron, and co-workers remind us how we fall short of the GDF standard. Like female and openly gay male aviators, we fall victim to the forceful voices in the room who can disguise their prejudice through subjective GDF shortcomings. These prejudices are only apparent when trends emerge: when every woman receives the same critique about an off-putting voice and poor disposition; when an air of caution fills the squadron bar when openly gay pilots walk in; when every Black airman is told to fix his or her attitude and military bearing.
The challenge for the Air Force in the 21st century is confronting critiques that center on a person’s lack of GDF. Anointing the GDF is idiosyncratic and limits our nation’s ability to recognize and overcome future problems. Instead, the Air Force needs to establish a culture that drives conformity to values that support objective merit.
If the GDF continues, the Air Force will not recruit and retain the nation’s best talent. Americans who do not fit the archetype will not join or will leave for the private sector, and our ability to defend the country we love will suffer. The Air Force is adept at eliminating the enemy abroad. To remain dominant, it needs to eliminate the enemy of boring racism home station.” (Dial & Walker, Institutional racism is boring, 2020)
When you dissect the good dude factor/GDF, it doesn’t look too much different from what I shared about what was expected of the first white female fighter pilots. I shared this in a previous chapter:
“Three Air Force female combat pilots agreed–a little reluctantly–to be interviewed for this story. The big news? They love flying. They love the Air Force. They talk just like the guys…
She didn’t ask for anything from anybody,” said McPeak. ‘Nobody gave her anything, and she went right through that course just like everybody else….
Everybody in the squadron had very high respect for her. And in her opinion, the F-15E is the world’s greatest airplane.’” (Grant, 2002)
Even the white women were supposed to “blend in,” as stated in the GDF description. They were supposed to love flying, love the Air Force, love their airplane, and talk just like the guys, the other white guys in training. This is the “community” they were supposed to blend into to be accepted, to have a high GDF. They were not supposed to have different needs or requests.
For black pilots, obtaining a high GDF required all the things required for the white female fighter pilots, but it also meant hiding “stereotyped hallmarks of blackness” and not displaying too much “confidence.” In every stereotypical fighter pilot movie that you have ever seen, such as “Top Gun,” the white fighter pilot is a cocky S.O.B. bursting with confidence in his abilities as a fighter pilot.
Here’s an article entitled “What is a Fighter Pilot” that a black female fighter pilot sent me. It was her way of describing the fighter pilot ethos that she had learned to be a part of:
“A fighter jock is quite a phenomenon. He likes flying (single seats only), especially gunnery, acrobatics, and cross countries. He has a strange fascination for flying boots, gambling, cigars (the bigger the better), and breaking glasses. He can usually be found in sports cars, at parties, or happy hour. His natural habitat (while on the ground) is the Land of the Bearded Clam, Europe, and/or certain parts of the Orient. He has an affinity for women and booze (especially martinis so dry that the bartender just faces Italy and salutes).
He likes Steve Canyon, to read Snoopy, eat steaks, and tell dirty jokes. His favorite hiding place is in dark cool bars or behind a pair of dark glasses. He is capricious. To amuse himself he may fire practice flares from mobile control, throw empty beer cans down the BOQ corridors, pour drinks down an over-exposed décolleté, or become generally obnoxious. His favorite conversation revolves about a continued chatter concerning flying, booze, or females (the order of priority is apparently irrelevant)…
A fighter pilot is a composite. He has the nerves of a robot, the audacity of Dennis the Menace, the lungs of a platoon sergeant, the vitality of an atomic bomb, the imagination of a science fiction writer; he is glib as a diplomat, impervious to suggestion and is a paragon of wisdom with a wealth of unassorted, completely unrelated and irrelevant facts. He wears the biggest watch, has the shortest staying power, and is always trying to get laid on credit. When he tries to make an impression, either his brain turns to mud or he becomes a savage, sadistic jungle creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.” (Wolff, 2015)
The problem with the type of “bravado” expressed in this description is that it is typically reserved for white men. In American history, the black man was always supposed to dumb it down, to defer, be subservient, and not try to outshine white men.
The roots of that ugly type of racism in America are exposed here in Daniel Walker’s description of how he was treated. It didn’t matter that Daniel excelled as a fighter pilot. As a black man, he was supposed to tone it down so that his white peers could feel comfortable around him.
I personally don’t think it helped matters that Daniel excelled at being a fighter pilot flying in the Air Force’s newest and most sought-after jet. The stated consequence, should Daniel have not chosen to blend into the community of white fighter pilots and tone down what they perceived as an unacceptable level of bravado for a black man, was that he would be “weeded out.”
In research conducted to try to understand minority attrition in the Navy in 1988, a phenomenon similar to GDF was also observed:
“The Navy recently released a study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University (Braddock et al., 1988). This study analyzed seven specific areas related to naval aviation training, one of which was the differences in training outcomes for minority candidates. Overall, the report found approximately 37% of minority student pilots attrited while only 11% of non-minority student pilots failed to complete training. They further reported that: (l) minority candidates had lower flight and academic scores, but their attrition rate far exceeded what could be expected based on these scores alone: (2) poor performance of minority student pilots could not be explained by lower test scores or academic major in college (in fact, minorities were as likely as non-minorities to have a technical degree):--and -(3) flight instructor (what the Air Force calls instructor pilot or IP) decisions in review boards appeared to be highly subjective…Finally, in talking with these Navy review boards, the researchers were struck by the perception that a great deal hinged on the demeanor of the student. The researchers concluded that giving the board the impression that one has the right attitude (perhaps meaning white middle class attitude) toward flying and toward the Navy was of great importance and a potential problem area for blacks from segregated backgrounds who may have a problem presenting this right image.” (Bryant, et al., 1992)
I believe that Gen. Brown’s upbringing may have helped him learn how to excel as a fighter pilot and fit in with his majority peers. That is not meant in a disparaging way. I’m saying that his upbringing caused him to excel at “two-ness” and operating in the majority fighter pilot culture, a.k.a. GDF. I found evidence that he excelled in the ability to navigate in majority culture in two places. In his remarks pertaining to how he felt some of his fellow black officer pilots viewed him and a remark from one of his fellow black pilots in pilot training.
Gen. Brown’s ability to fit in with his white peers alienated him to a degree from his black peers. He said of that experience, “I’m thinking about being a captain at the O’Club with my squadron and being told by other African-Americans that I wasn’t “black enough” since I was spending more time with my squadron than with them.” (American Rhetoric, 2020)
There was a quote in a survey that I omitted from “Black Pilot.” It was from a black student pilot who went through pilot training with Gen Brown. The student said, “he wasn’t one of us.” I take the risk of mischaracterizing Gen. Brown, only to point out that as black people, the danger of being “too successful” in navigating majority culture is that people from your own culture distance themselves from you. Terms like “sell-out,” “Uncle Tom,” and worse are used. These are pressures unique to black people that Gen. Brown had to overcome to thrive in majority culture.
Here’s a “chicken or the egg” question as it pertains to Gen. Brown. Did Gen Brown’s GDF come first, or did his excellence as a pilot come first? It’s a trick question. As expressed in “Black Ceiling” and in “Black Pilot,” my fundamental belief is that it is hard to be graded and acknowledged as the best amongst white peers without a high GDF.
In “Black Ceiling,” I shared a quote from Lt. Gen. Hopper on how GDF could contribute to success in pilot training by providing access to tips and other helpful hints:
“Lt. Gen. John D. Hopper Jr., former (AETC/CV), and retired black three-star general, stated in his interview that the toughest thing for minority pilots was acculturation. He said that pilot training success was largely dependent on group study. Additionally, going to the gatherings, be it the officers club on Friday nights or wherever, was a key factor to being successful in pilot training because it was there that young trainees got together with IPs and other authority figures to pick up the hints, the things that made ‘the water smoother.’ Hopper said that minorities typically miss out on these forums. Lt. Gen. Hopper’s view was that black trainees (as a generalization) were not only uncomfortable in group study but also in asking for help.”
Former CSAF focal point for fighter pilot diversity, Lt. Col. Kenyatta Ruffin echoed Lt. Gen. Hopper’s sentiments in this quote from “Black Pilot”:
“Minority UPT students often find themselves engrossed in a cultural environment where they have few common interests and bonds with their peer group (if it were not for UPT, would these group of individuals have this intimate, intense socialization?). This low connectivity results in minority students potentially not receiving all of the ‘gouge,’ critical information, and overall general support, as do other members of the ‘in group.’ The reality of this issue stems from basic sociology, and for a contemporary view of the effects of racial/ethnic differences, see the book ‘Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?’ (Ruffin, 2017) (Thompson, The Air Force's Black Pilot Training Experience, 2018)
Only the perfect combination of GDF and flying skills has enabled Gen. Brown to walk through the doors of firsts that he has walked through: first black fighter pilot aide-de-camp to CSAF, first black commander of flying forces in Iraq, first black four-star commander of fighter forces in a major theatre (Pacific) and the first black CSAF.
In light of all these things, then, it is my assessment that the Air Force has not turned a diversity corner or flung open the doors for minorities. As I have previously stated, Gen. Brown’s selection as CSAF was unquestionably not a diversity hire or because it was “time for a black Chief.” Gen. Rand said of Gen. Brown:
“C.Q. Brown isn’t chief of staff b
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