Brigadier General Brooks currently serves as the Assistant Division Commander, 3d Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan.
Brigadier General Brooks began his military service as a Marine Private at Parris Island, SC in 1988. He went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1994. He has led Marines and other service members up to the division level, in both infantry and special operations units. He served as a company-grade infantry officer in the 5th and 2d Marine Regiments and as a special operations officer in various assignments within the Marine Raider Regiment. His operational experience includes the 31st and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Units and multiple special operations task force deployments. Overseas service includes Okinawa, Iraq, and Afghanistan, including multiple combat tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Enduring Freedom.
In addition to his operational assignments, he served in the Special Operations and Counterterrorism Directorate and as the Executive Officer to the Director for Operations, Joint Staff, Pentagon. He has experience leading and training entry-level officers and enlisted Marines at the Basic School in Quantico, VA, and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA. Prior to completing his most recent assignment as the Special Assistant to the Commander, United States Special Operations Command, Brigadier General Brooks served as a fellow on the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, NY.
He is a Marine Combatant Diver, Military Free Fall Parachutist, Mountain Leader, and a graduate of the Marine Corps Aviation Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College in Washington, DC.