Lt. Col. Stephen V. Brooks hails from Toledo, Ohio. He enlisted in the Army in 2004, earned the rank of staff sergeant and deployed in support of Hurricane Katrina and Operation Enduring Freedom VIII with the 82nd Airborne Division. He earned his commission through the Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
His previous duty assignments as a commissioned officer include Platoon leader (Vertical and Horizontal Construction), executive officer, assistant S-3 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, with the 94th Engineer Battalion.
He deployed as an executive officer with the 77th Vertical Construction Company in support of Operation Enduring Freedom XIII and the Central Command Material Retrograde Element mission. He also served as company commander of Echo Company, 3-39 Infantry Regiment, 165th Infantry Brigade at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
He was selected for Advanced Civil Schooling at the University of Chattanooga, Tennessee, then served his utilization tour with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District as a project engineer, district deputy for seven months and aide-de-camp for the Mississippi Valley Division commander. The Vicksburg District consists of 1,100 military and civilian employees and more than $3.5B in assets.
He deployed as a battle captain in support of hurricanes Irma and Maria. He served as the chief of engineers for Operations Group X-Ray with the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in support of four Warfighter Exercises. He most recently served at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, as the division engineer for the Second Infantry Division for one year, and as the operations officer for the Eighth Army Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion for one year. While in Korea, Brooks supported the theater-level operational command post and battalion command post deployments across the peninsula, in addition to engineer planning in the protection warfighting function.
Brooks received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Adrian College; a Master of Arts degree in education from the University of Phoenix; a Master of Arts degree in management and leadership from Webster University; and a Master of Science degree in engineering management from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He is a graduate of the Officer Candidate School; Engineer Basic Officer Leader Course; Engineer Captains Career Course; and the Command General Staff College with a master’s degree in operational studies. He is a Project Management Professional and also received his Lean Six Sigma-Green Belt certification.
Brooks’ awards include the Bronze Star Medal; Meritorious Service Medal – Two Oak Leaf Clusters; Afghanistan Campaign Medal - Two Stars; Korean Defense Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal – Four Oak Leaf Clusters; Army Achievement Medal - One Silver Leaf Cluster; Humanitarian Service Ribbon – One Oak Leaf Cluster; Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal – One Oak Leaf Cluster; Army Superior Unit Award – One Oak Leaf Cluster; Egyptian Parachutist Badge; Overseas Service Ribbon; Global War on Terror Service Medal; Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal; Sapper Tab; Parachutist Badge; Combat Action Badge; and the Bronze de Fleury Medal.
He has one daughter and was inducted into the Adrian College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.