Vincent K. Brooks
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Vincent Keith Brooks (born October 24, 1958) is a retired
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
who last commanded
United States Forces Korea United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...
,
United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, an ...
, and ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command. He previously served as the commanding general of
United States Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army component unit of the United States Indo ...
and prior to that as the commanding general of Third Army. Brooks was the
United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...
Deputy Director of Operations during the War in Iraq, and frequently briefed the media, which raised his public profile. He also served as the Chief of Army Public Affairs
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
. He was the deputy commander of 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad during the 2006–2008 "surge" and upon returning to the United States became the commanding general of the same division. He later was commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division. Brooks assumed command in Korea on April 30, 2016 and was succeeded by
Robert B. Abrams Robert Bruce Abrams (born November 18, 1960) is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the commander of United States Forces Korea. He concurrently served as the commander of United Nations Command and commander ...
in November 2018, and he retired on January 1, 2019.


Family

Brooks was born in
Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
, on October 24, 1958. He grew up as an
Army brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revis ...
in a prominent military family in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. His father, Major General Leo A. Brooks Sr., and brother, Brigadier General Leo A. Brooks Jr., both retired after careers in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. His uncle,
Francis K. Brooks Francis K. Brooks (born May 24, 1943) is a Vermont educator and politician who served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007. Brooks was a member of the Vermont Senate from 2017 to 2019. Biography Francis K. Brooks was born ...
, was the majority leader of the
Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...
and a member of the
Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...
. Brooks attended Thomas Jefferson High School in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
for two years, and then Jesuit High School in
Carmichael, California Carmichael is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 79,793 at the 2020 census. Geography and geology Carmichael is located a ...
, where he graduated in 1976. He was a varsity
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player, and decided to follow his brother to
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point to earn a commission as an officer.


Military service

At West Point, Brooks was the academy's first African-American First Captain, the highest position (Cadet Brigade Commander) a cadet can hold, an appointment that brought much public visibility at an early age in life. He graduated from West Point in 1980. After graduating, Brooks served in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
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 Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. Th ...
in Georgia. From that position he moved to the
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
at
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
. While serving there he was temporarily assigned to be Deputy Director of Operations at
United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...
(CENTCOM). Returning to the Pentagon and the Joint Staff in April 2003, he became the Lead Strategic Planner for the Global War on Terrorism working closely with the CIA, the Departments of State, Treasury and Justice, the FBI and the military's United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In his role as Deputy Director of Operations, Brooks also became the spokesperson of CENTCOM, the main force in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. At that time he was the youngest general officer in the army. From 2006 to 2008 Brooks served as the Deputy Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division, serving for fifteen months in Baghdad as second-in-command of the main effort (Multinational Division – Baghdad) stabilizing the Iraqi capital city and province during what is now called "The Surge." Upon return from Iraq, he took command of the 1st Cavalry Division until April 2008. Following an assignment as the Deputy Commanding General of the Army's III (Third) Corps at Fort Hood, Texas, he again took command of a combat unit, serving as the Commanding General of the historic 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley in
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
from April 2009 to May 2011. He deployed the unit to Iraq for a year, serving as U.S. Division – South, responsible for securing the heavily Shi'ite areas of the southern half of the country. The headquarters was in Basra, Iraq. Following two years in a second division-level command, Brooks took command of
U.S. Army Central The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...
and Third Army responsible for all U.S. Army operations throughout the Middle East and Central Asia (from Egypt to Kazakhstan). During this time, Brooks oversaw the reduction of forces in Iraq as well as the build up of forces in Afghanistan. As the Commanding General of
United States Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army component unit of the United States Indo ...
and as a part of the " Asia Pivot" of the Obama administration foreign policy, Brooks envisioned and executed the "
Pacific Pathways Pacific Pathways is a program run by United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) and carried out by I Corps with the goal of expanding the Army's engagement in the Pacific region and reducing costs. It involves linking multiple military exercises to ...
" program. The program consists of a single United States Army unit that would move to different countries of the Asia and Pacific regions for up to three months at a time to develop first-hand understanding of the region. While initially criticized in some circles, the innovative approach has met high acclaim from the countries of the region and the units involved in the missions. In March 2016, Brooks was nominated to command
United States Forces Korea United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...
, the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command, and
United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, an ...
, succeeding General Curtis Scaparrotti. He served until October 2018, and was succeeded by
Robert B. Abrams Robert Bruce Abrams (born November 18, 1960) is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the commander of United States Forces Korea. He concurrently served as the commander of United Nations Command and commander ...
. On November 4, 2016, Brooks was bestowed the Korean name Park Yu-jong by the ROK-US Alliance Friendship Association to show appreciation for his contributions to strengthening relations between the American and Korean armed forces. He also received a scroll and a taekwondo black belt and uniform inscribed with the moniker. Brooks retired on January 1, 2019, following the completion of his command assignment in Korea.


Retirement

After retiring from the U.S. military, Brooks has served as a director on multiple corporate boards, including Diamondback Energy and the project management and engineering firm Jacobs, which contracts heavily with the U.S. military. He is also a principal with WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm that helps "defense corporations market their products to the Pentagon and other agencies," according to the Project On Government Oversight.


Awards and decorations


Family

* Father : Leo A. Brooks Sr. - Major General of the United States Army (retired) ** Brother : Leo A. Brooks Jr. - Brigadier General of the United States Army (retired) * Uncle :
Francis K. Brooks Francis K. Brooks (born May 24, 1943) is a Vermont educator and politician who served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007. Brooks was a member of the Vermont Senate from 2017 to 2019. Biography Francis K. Brooks was born ...
- the Vermont Senate (2017-2019) * Cousin : Mark C. Quander - Brigadier General of the United States Army


Notes


References


External links

*
"Pursue Excellence in Everything": West Point's First African-American First Captain
(archived fro
the original
on 2016-08-07)
Iraqis, coalition forces battle illegally-armed militiasTroops at Camp Liberty observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Vincent K. 1958 births African-American United States Army personnel United States Army generals Living people United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military personnel from Anchorage, Alaska Military personnel from Sacramento, California Military personnel from Alexandria, Virginia People from Carmichael, California Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Commanders, United States Forces Korea