Army Brig. Gen. Heidi V. Brown was promoted to the rank of Major General during a ceremony Jan. 13, 2012 at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O'Reilly, director of MDA, and Lt. Gen. Robert P. Lennox, deputy chief of staff, G-8 U.S. Army, officiated the ceremony.

Brown is the Director for Test for MDA and is responsible for planning, programming, budgeting, staffing, and managing a comprehensive Ballistic Missile Defense System test program. The BMDS will protect our homeland, soldiers, allies and friends against all types of ballistic missiles in all phases of flight.

Brown is a 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Over the course of her military career, she has served in a variety of command and staff positions in the Air Defense Artillery branch, including Commander, 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, III Corps; Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Air Defense Center and Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Army Air Defense School at Fort Bliss, Texas; Deputy Commanding General (Sustainment) at Fort Lewis, Deputy Commanding General (Sustainment), Multi National Corps — Iraq; and most recently, Director of Integration, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G8. As Commander of the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Brown was the first woman to command and lead an Air Defense Artillery brigade into combat and has the added distinction of being the first female general in the Air Defense Artillery branch.

Brown's awards include the Legion of Merit with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star Medal with one OLC, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with six OLC, the Army Commendation Medal with five OLC the Joint Services Achievement Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal with four OLC. She is also authorized to wear the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

Brown holds a Bachelors Degree from the United States Military Academy, a Masters of Education Degree in Student Personnel Services, University of South Carolina, and a Masters in Strategic Studies, the Army War College.