General (Retired) Vincent “Vince” Brooks served in the U.S. Army for over 42 years from his entry into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point until his retirement from active duty in 2019 as a four-star general. Brooks spent his final seventeen years of service in the general officer ranks and for nearly all those years in command of large, complex military organizations in challenging situations.

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His military service includes tours of duty in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere, and the Indo-Pacific Region as well as the American Homeland.

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On several occasions General Brooks became a history-maker. Among them, while a cadet at West Point he was named as the Cadet Brigade Commander or “First Captain.” He was the first African American to hold this top-ranking position. As a Brigadier (one-star) General he was the operations spokesperson for U.S. Central Command at the outset of combat operations in Iraq. In this role he was described as the face of the U.S. military. In 2013 he was nominated to wear the four-star insignia of a General, becoming the eighth African American to attain the top military rank. Finally, he is part of the only African American family to have three generals in two generations. His father, Major General Leo A. Brooks was the first. His brother, Brigadier General Leo A. Brooks, Jr., USMA 1979 and former Commandant of Cadets, was the second general in the family. And Vincent Brooks was the third. They also have another relative in the general officer ranks, Major General Mark C. Quander, USMA 1995, who also served as Commandant of Cadets.

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In his post-military career, General Brooks is a board director for three public companies (Diamondback Energy, Verisk Analytics, Amentum), and a former director for a fourth company (Jacobs). He is a director of one non-profit organization (Gary Sinise Foundation), and he is former Chair and President of the non-profit Korea Defense Veterans Association. He is a consultant principal with a prominent national security consulting firm (WestExec Advisors). General Brooks is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is also a Fellow at three prestigious intellectual centers (Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School, Clements Center for National Security at University of Texas, and Strauss Center for International Security and Law at University of Texas). He is also served as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military Academy until 2024.

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General Brooks holds a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Military Art and Science from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from New England School of Law, and an Honorary Doctor of Humanities from New England Law | Boston. He resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, Dr. Carol P. Brooks, DSc.