Brigadier General Brooks began his military service as a Marine Private at Parris Island, South Carolina in 1988. He went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and was commissioned as an infantry officer. He has led Marines and other service members up to the division level in both infantry and special operations units and served in all four Marine Divisions over the course of his career. He was the first commander and plank holder of Marine Special Operations Company G and served as a Special Operations Officer in various assignments including battalion command and command of the Marine Raider Regiment.
His operational experience includes the 31st and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Units, Assistant Division Commander of 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan, and command of several Joint Special Operations Task Forces across the Middle East, including his most recent assignment commanding the Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force.
In addition to his operational assignments, BGen Brooks served in the Special Operations and Counterterrorism Directorate, and as the Executive Assistant to the Director for Operations, Joint Staff, Pentagon. He served as the Special Assistant to the Commander, United States Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida. He has experience leading and training entry-level officers and enlisted Marines at the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California.
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 in New York City and served as a military fellow there from 2019-2020. Brigadier General Brooks holds a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College in Washington, DC.