Vincent K. Brooks
Born October 24, 1958 (1958-10-24) (age 51)
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1980–present
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	Kosovo War on Terrorism
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit

Vincent Keith Brooks (born October 24, 1958) is an American Major General, who was the United States Army's Deputy Director of Operations during the War in Iraq. This position again made him visible in the media. He also served as the Chief of Army Public Affairs in The Pentagon. As of April, 2009, MG Brooks is the commander of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.

[edit] Family

Brooks was born in Anchorage, Alaska. Brooks grew up in an Army family in California and his father Leo A. Brooks Sr. and brother Leo A. Brooks Jr. were both Brigadier Generals in the United States Army. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia for two years and then Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California and graduated in 1976. He attended the United States Military Academy where he rose to the rank of Cadet First Captain, the highest position (Cadet Brigade Commander), a cadet can hold. He was the first African-American Cadet to hold this prestigious position. He graduated from West Point in 1980.

[edit] Military service

He was a basketball player and he decided to follow his brother to West Point to study to become an officer. At West Point, Brooks was the academy's first African-American cadet First Captain, an appointment that brought much public visibility at an early age in life. After graduating in 1980, Brooks served in Korea and Kosovo among other places. In Kosovo he concurrently served as the deputy commander of the U.S. force in Kosovo (Task Force Falcon) and as commander of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. From that position he moved to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. While serving there he was temporarily assigned to be Deputy Director of Operations at U.S. Central Command or CENTCOM. Returning to the Pentagon and The Joint Staff in April 2003 he became the Strategic Planner for the War on Terrorism.

In his role as Deputy Director of Operations he also became the spokesperson of United States Central Command, the main force in the Middle East.

[edit] Quotes

• "We are role models to a lot of young people, not just African Americans and soldiers," [1]
• "People can see the achievement and how hard work leads to it." [2]

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vincent K. Brooks

• Vincent Brooks biography
• Iraqis, coalition forces battle illegally-armed militias
• Troops at Camp Liberty observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday