General is becoming familiar face to viewers ...3 Brig. Generals in family

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/...-brooks27.html

General is becoming familiar face to viewers

March 27, 2003

BY LUCIO GUERRERO STAFF REPORTER



People who tune into the press briefings every morning from U.S. Central Command in Qatar probably know Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks.

In pressed camouflage uniform and standing perfectly erect, Brooks will answer questions from the dozens of reporters gathered there and show spectacular video and photos of coalition bombs finding their targets.

He'll explain the details of the war, from casualties to missions, in a way that only a true military man can.

But while Brooks is on his way to becoming a household name because of the TV exposure--much like Gen. Colin Powell and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf in the Persian Gulf War--he's already a bona fide star in the Army.

That's not surprising to many, considering he grew up in a truly military family.

Brooks, 43, comes from a rare family in which three immediate members are all brigadier generals.

His father, Leo Brooks Sr., is a retired brigadier general. And his brother, Leo Brooks Jr., is a brigadier general who is commandant of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Vincent Brooks' military career began to take shape, and bring notice, in 1980 during his final year at West Point. There, he excelled in all three areas, or disciplines, required for graduation: physical development, academics and military.

He was a serious student who would keep late hours to study for exams.

On an online message board for West Point grads, one of his classmates remembers the time Brooks fell asleep while studying and landed face-first into a pizza.

"He was a very serious cadet," said John Chory, who graduated with Brooks and is now a Boston attorney. "But he had a great sense of humor.

"He would not get all wrapped up in things."

Brooks' hard work paid off, and on May 27, 1980, he graduated first in his class in the military discipline.

He was the first black brigade commander at West Point.

He became the first member of his class to be nominated for general officer and was the youngest on the list.

"I am proud of him and not surprised at all to see where he is now," said Chory, who hasn't missed any of the televised briefings.

After graduation, Brooks eventually landed at Fort Stewart, Ga., where he served as 1st Brigade commander in the 3rd Infantry Division.

He led 3,000 troops on a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, where they worked with the 101st Airborne Division.

It was soon after that, June 2002, when he learned that he was being nominated for general ranking.

Brooks was confirmed by the Senate later that year.

Brooks doesn't talk about his success in the military without crediting those around him--and sheer determination.

"[The Brooks family] are role models to a lot of young people, not just African Americans and soldiers," he said in a 2002 interview. "People can see the achievement and how hard work leads to it."