02/01/2022
It is with great sadness I report the death of MAJ(R) Christopher Brooks. Chris died in a crash in his pickup truck along interstate 293 in Bedford, New Hampshire on January 23, 2022. His service with the VTARNG included 2-172 Armor as a platoon leader and Scout, A/572 Engineers as a company commander, 1-172 Cavalry and Joint Force Headquarters. He deployed to Kuwait during OIF III, patrolling out of Camp Navistar, Kuwait, covering northern Kuwait and Southern Iraq. Chris also deployed to Afghanistan with Task Force Morgan, as the company commander for A/572EN (SAPPER). Chris was a graduate of Norwich University. His was a life of service, both to our Guard and as a police Sergeant with the Bellows Falls, Vermont, Police Department.
I cannot easily capture here all that was Chris Brooks. I attended the Armor Officer Basic Course (AOBC) with him in 1999, where we first officially met. We were in class together and lived across the hall from each other at the Knierim Apartments on Fort Knox, KY. Chris made AOBC bearable, if not actually enjoyable, with our weekend barbecues and trips to Louisville. He just did Brooks. If you did not have the opportunity to know or work with him, he was one of a kind, so to speak. Chris was always invested selflessly in his mission and his Soldiers no matter where he served. He gave of himself to help other Veterans struggling with PTSD and adjustment disorder. He never lacked passion for those he served with, always a bigger than life leader. I am grateful for his friendship, and know I will miss him. Please join me in keeping Chris, and his family and loved ones, in our thoughts and our prayers. Let’s let his selfless service be the example in how we treat others. For me, he was certainly one of a kind who touched more lives than can easily be counted.
Put the Vermonters Ahead.
