LAWTON, Okla. — Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mitchell Brown was honored on Tuesday, July 2, at a ceremony in Kerwin Auditorium at the Fires Center of Excellence, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Friends and family were on hand to celebrate Brown’s distinguished career, which spanned more than three decades. Serving as the Chief Warrant Officer of the Air Defense Artillery Branch for the Air Defense Artillery School for the last five years.
Originally from Plano, Texas, Brown became a warrant officer in 1998, starting his warrant career as an instructor at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Brown began his career as a channel radio operator, quickly realizing his passion for the technical aspects of the U.S. Army. Although he initially reclassified into military intelligence, he eventually found his calling in the ADA, despite initial reservations.
“It was more of the technical aspect,” Brown said. “As a warrant, you’re the subject matter expert. I’ve been around computers since I was six years old. I didn’t see myself being a sergeant major; the NCO chain was not what I wanted to pursue. Warrant officer seemed like the best path.”
The CWOB’s career sent him around the globe, visiting Korea, Japan, Iraq, Jordan and nearly every country in CENTCOM, sharing his expertise with various brigades, batteries and commands. Despite his extensive travels, he said he was able to spend considerable time stateside with his family—his wife, Samantha and five boys—while advancing up the ADA branch.
“I’m involved in shaping formations, shaping the MOSs, the personnel piece, providing technical expertise to the commandant and Army senior leaders outside of the branch,” he said. “It’s crazy the kind of stuff I get involved in. Whether it’s reading doctrine, reading POIs, anything coming out of DOT-D, it all comes across my desk. If I had known it would be this much reading, I would’ve never taken the job.”
As he heads into retirement, Brown plans to continue working, acknowledging Samantha, his wife of over 32 years, would not appreciate him lounging around the house all day.
“I’ve got to get a job; there’s no way I can just stay at home and do nothing,” Brown said. “One, Samantha will kill me if I just try to sit around the house and two, I need the money. I’m going to stay here at Sill and find a job; there’s a lot of opportunity.”
Brown was succeeded by CW5 Robert W. Balch, who was appointed as the new Chief Warrant Officer of the Branch on May 22, 2024.
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