Sober Replies to Speculative Questions [Gen. Vincent Brooks - The Spokesman]

New York Times ^ | April 3, 2003 | John M. Broder

[syriacus]

CAMP SAYLIYA, Qatar, April 3 — Day after day since the beginning of the war, Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks has described the advance of American forces toward Baghdad. Today, General Brooks, the chief military spokesman for Central Command, said that American soldiers were at the gates of the city, ready to enter whenever and wherever they choose.

So it was a bit jarring to hear a television reporter from Hong Kong question the general about what would happen if the American offensive suddenly collapsed. "Where would the coalition troops retreat to?" he asked.

It was a question ready-made for a bit of humor, even a hint of sarcasm, in response. But Vince Brooks, career soldier and son of a soldier, is too disciplined for that.

"Well," he said, "that's a highly speculative question, and you will not get a speculative answer. Right now we are on plan, and we are doing fine. So I am not even going to consider what it is you ask."

Those who work with him were not surprised by the sober response. General Brooks, they say, leaves the bombast and broad claims to the Schwarzkopfs, the Rumsfelds, the retired general-officer commentariat. He utters no words he may later have to answer for.

The rangy General Brooks is 44 and looks younger. He still has the build of a teenage basketball player, which he was at a Jesuit high school near Sacramento. He turned down a scholarship to play basketball at North Carolina State to follow his brother to West Point.

His father, Leo Brooks Sr., is a former Army major general, who after his retirement in 1984 was named Philadelphia's managing director, the city's top appointed position. He held that job during the confrontation with the radical group Move in May 1985, which ended when the police dropped a bomb on a rowhouse, causing a fire that killed 11 people. Mr. Brooks announced his resignation 10 days after the incident, and he was cleared of all criminal liability by a Philadelphia grand jury three years later.

General Brooks's brother Leo Brooks Jr. is also a brigadier general and commandant of cadets at West Point, the academy's No. 2 position.

At West Point, Vince Brooks stood out among a group of standouts. In his senior year in 1979-80, he was elected first captain, the leader of the 4,338-member corps of cadets, a title held before him by John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and William Westmoreland, among others.

He was the first black cadet in the academy's 177-year history to hold the position. Twenty-two years later he was the first member of his class to be nominated for flag rank. He was confirmed by the Senate last year as a brigadier general, the third member of his family to wear a star on his shoulders.

General Brooks refused to be interviewed for this article, or any of several others that have been written about him since he gained international prominence on the Central Command podium. Although he is clearly an accomplished public speaker, if a bit stiff in the military fashion, the one subject he is reluctant to discuss is himself.

He spoke briefly to a Georgia newspaper, The Augusta Chronicle, last year after he was nominated to become a brigadier general and was about to be transferred to the Pentagon from Fort Stewart, Ga., where he was commander of the first brigade of the Third Infantry Division.

"I'd rather be here with the troops," he told the newspaper. He said he hoped that his and his brother's accomplishments could serve as examples of the rewards of hard work and discipline "not just for African-Americans and soldiers."

His aunt, Nellie Brooks Quander, who lives outside of Washington, said: "He is a very humble young man. You'll never meet a finer young man in your entire life. But I don't want to sound like I'm bragging on one of my family when there are people whose children are dying right now on that battlefield."

She added, "We can talk about Vince after the war is over."

General Brooks's résumé includes commands at all levels up to the brigade level, but he has never led troops in combat.

General Brooks did, however, serve several tours at the Pentagon, most recently as a deputy director for political-military affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq, picked General Brooks to be the public face for Central Command earlier this year, aides said, in part because he had impressed military and civilian leaders in Washington with his composure and fluency under fire.

Aides said that General Brooks, whose title is deputy director for operations, spends much of his day overseeing the fighting in Iraq and relatively little time preparing for the daily briefings.

His answers to questions are polite and vague, often accompanied by promises to "check on that for you." He seldom strays from his script, which is prepared by the battalion-strength public affairs apparatus here.

And every day the message is the same. He circled back to it at the end of his briefing today. "We're doing fine," he said. "We are on plan, and we remain very confident in the outcome of our operations."

[syriacus]

I was glad to get to learn a little more about Gen. Brooks.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

I enjoy listening to his briefings. He is no nonsense, cool, and has the respect of his audience despite some of their idiotic questions. What a difference between this tall, fit, professional soldier and the slovenly, slouchy, grouchy, attacking "reporters" sitting in front of him. (not all - but many). I know - each has their place. But our military leaders, including General Brooks, have been nothing short of brilliant and should make every American happy that they are on OUR SIDE!

[astounded]

I think he's a great example of the quality of the US military. I am curious, though, for which action(s) did he receive his CIB.

[Pharlap]

Would anyone care to make a comparison between General Brooks and Chief Moose?

[Notwithstanding]

Cadet Vincent Brooks, Class of 1980, became the first African-American First Captain, completing an evolution to leadership that had begun more than 30 years earlier. Since 1948, there have been African-American cadets in every incoming class. The open hostility and discrimination that greeted those initial African-American cadets during the later half of the 19th and first half of the 20th Century rapidly faded in the 1950s, but there were only 30 African-American cadets in the Corps in 1968. The advance of civil rights legislation from Congress and action by the Department of the Army was reflected at the academy in the assignment of an African-American officer to the admissions office with the mission of recruiting qualified African Americans. By 1970, there were more than 100 African-American cadets in the Corps each year and, in 1991, the 1,000th African American graduated from the Military Academy. Roscoe Robinson, Jr., Class of 1951, became the Army’s first four-star African-American general in 1982. Later in the decade, Fred Gorden, Class of 1962, became the first African American to serve as the commandant of cadets from 1987 and 1989. Today, African Americans typically represent about 8 percent of the Corps of Cadets.

[ccmay]

She added, "We can talk about Vince after the war is over."

Shows what kind of people the whole family is.

-ccm

[68skylark]

I admire Gen. Brooks a lot.

Personally, I'd much rather be in the field getting shot at by Iraqis than to have to make a dignified response to all the stupid questions that Gen. Brooks has to deal with each day.

[LS]

This guy has the patience of a Chinese ivory sculptor.

I would have ripped some of those people's little microphones off! Their questions are beyond idiocy. Surely no thinking person can ask such dumb questions, day in and day out.

[syriacus]

Fred Gorden, Class of 1962, became the first African American to serve as the commandant of cadets from 1987 and 1989

According to the article, this is the position now held by Vincent Brook's brother, Leo.

General Brooks's brother Leo Brooks Jr. is also a brigadier general and commandant of cadets at West Point, the academy's No. 2 position.

[spiffy]

I like him! He is sharp. I hope to see more of him in the future.

[Notwithstanding]

You are correct.

[Focault's Pendulum]

I watch General Brooks just about every morning at the press breifings. He is an end result of what many military leaders should strive to be.

Softspoken....with a back pocket full of whoop ass.

[Recon by Fire]

CIB or EIB?

[Duke809]

He has a EIB

[Recon by Fire]

He has a EIB

That is what I remember seeing.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Yes, indeed. What a joy to read of a family like this!

[Ecliptic]

He doesn't have a CIB, it's an "Expert Infantry Badge".....you get it by taking a test....

[ThomasMore]

This guy is a class act!

[Ecliptic]

I'm surprised he hasn't gone into Iraq for a visit...if you see him with a CIB, you will know he's been there and been under fire.....

[mtbopfuyn]

Not that anyone wonders why he's up there and not me because I'd have those Marines sitting along the wall march each idiot who dared utter a moronic question out the door by sabre point. Glad he's on our side. We'll definitely see more of him after this.