In 1980 Vincent Brooks graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy, West Point. He became the first African-American in the school's history to be named cadet brigade commander (the top-ranking cadet), a position that required Brooks to lead more than 4,000 cadets during his senior year. Moving through the ranks in the Army, Brooks served as a brigade commander during Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo. In January 2003, he became the spokesman for the U.S. Army Central Command in Qatar during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the American-led war with Iraq, Brooks handled the daily press conferences for the command and was widely referred to as "the face of the U.S. military." Today Brigadier General Brooks serves as the Army’s senior Public Affairs Officer, overseeing the Army’s communication efforts.