WASHINGTON: Vincent Brooks, former deputy chief of public affairs and United State Central Command spokesperson during the Iraq war, has been promoted as chief of public affairs for the US Army.
Brooks is replacing Robert Gaylord, who is retiring. Gaylord was named CPA on July 14, 2003.
Brooks was thrust into the national spotlight last summer when General Tommy Franks, US Central Command commander in chief, named him spokesperson. He addressed the media from the US Central Command base in Qatar during the war.
"I learned a lot about how the public affairs world works," Brooks told PRWeek in reference to his time in Qatar. "We live in an information environment, where there is a global audience we have to give our consideration to."
He was confirmed as a brigadier general in 2002. Before that, he served as aide de camp to the Army vice chief of staff.
The CPA position involves creating Army public affairs policies and serving as an advisor to the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff, Army, and other senior Army and Department of Defense leaders on public affairs matters.
He cited as an example the international audience following the recent presidential election.
"The world is interested in what the US is going to do," Brooks said.
The US Army is currently reviewing the presentations from six marcom teams to assume its $180 million integrated recruitment account.
Those in contention are incumbent, Publicis' Leo Burnett, as well as Grey Global Group, IPG's McCann-Erickson, WPP's Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, and Omnicom's BBDO.
Brooks declined to speak about the integrated recruitment campaign.
