Central Command general will lead U.S. Army Pacific

Army Lt. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks has been selected to be the next commander of U.S. Army Pacific and will receive his fourth star in his new position at Fort Shafter, the Pentagon announced Monday.

Brooks is commanding general of U.S. Army Central Command and 3rd U.S. Army at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

U.S. Army Pacific, headquartered at Fort Shafter, commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of South Korea. The command has more than 5,000 soldiers, civilians, contractors and military families living and/or working on the 589-acre post.

If USARPAC were a business, the Army says, it would rank as one of the state’s largest employers. It has more than 25,000 full-time soldiers and civilians employed throughout the Pacific, and 9,000 more in the National Guard and Army Reserve.

Its current commanding general is Lt. Gen. Francis “Frank” Wiercinski.

Brooks was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and grew up in California. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1980. Brooks was the first black cadet in the school’s history to be named cadet brigade commander, the top-ranking cadet. Brooks graduated first in his class.

He served as commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan., from April 2009 to May 2011, and then became 3rd Army commanding general.