LOUISVILLE, Ky.–Lt. Gen. Vincent Brooks, who commands the U.S. Third Army and soon will lead the Army’s forces in the Pacific, will speak at the University of Louisville’s ROTC spring commissioning ceremony May 10.
He will discuss leadership, the Army’s future and what graduating cadets can expect as new officers. U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth also is scheduled to speak at the 10 a.m. event in 101 Strickler Hall.
Brooks, a 1980 U.S. Military Academy graduate, was the first African American brigade commander in the school’s history. He is expected to become a four-star general in June when he assumes the Army’s Pacific command, which covers 80,000 soldiers serving in an area from Alaska to Pacific Asia.
Brooks has overseen Army operations in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East since 2011. Previously, he commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq and was deputy director for the war on terrorism, a unit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A national security fellow at Harvard University, he holds a master’s degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
UofL’s ROTC program, also known as the Cardinal Battalion, has commissioned more than 300 Army officers since it was formed in 1982.
Ten of the 17 UofL cadets becoming second lieutenants at the event are Distinguished Military Graduates, an honor earned by only one-fifth of the nation’s graduating cadets.
For more details, contact Michael Quitania at 253-970-3904 or maquit01@louisville.edu