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We Never Did It That Way Before: Memoirs of The Vietnam War, All-Volunteer Army, and Sergeant Major of the Army Court Martial

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“We Never Did It That Way Before” is a one of a kind book which follows the life and times of CSM Thomas Brooks (Ret), a noncommissioned officer in the United States Army. The book begins during the author’s young years in rural Mississippi entering the United States Army in August of 1967. This was a time when young men could look forward to one definite thing in life…they would be drafted into the Armed Services. The narrative recounts how this young man rose from Private to the top of his chosen military field, achieving the rank of Command Sergeant Major of the United States Army Recruiting Command.

Brooks believes his real challenges and accomplishments were in the Recruiting Command beginning just prior to the end of the Selective Service Draft in March 1972 through May 1998. It was there that he experienced all the growing pains and difficulties associated with the building of today’s All-Volunteer Army, or the All-Recruited Army - a more accurate term.

Throughout the book, CSM Brooks provides a detailed picture into the life of an Army Recruiter and takes the reader through the process of recruiting individuals into the United States Army. Brooks also writes about the importance of leadership, especially in the United States Army, and offers his wisdom and guidance to current and future recruiters.

The United States Army Recruiting Command is a successful organization, which continues to accomplish the mission it set out to do more than forty years ago. That mission delivered the strength for our Army and eliminated the need for a biased Selective Service system which, at best, only provided bodies to fill vacancies, nothing more. The past four decades have been tough years for those who believed an All-Volunteer Army was feasible. CSM Brooks and fellow Recruiters wrote the handbook as they went. They made adjustments where necessary while continuing to march forward. The result is an Army second to none: highest paid, best trained, most educated and most capable of dealing with any threat from foreign adversaries. An Army that never says: We Never Did It That Way Before!

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2019

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About the author

Thomas Brooks

245 books11 followers
Thomas Brooks earned his B.S. Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA from the University of Maryland. The award-winning author has published several articles, and has been featured frequently on the radio and on television. In 1998, Brooks won a national award from the Career Communications Group in the category of Technical Sales and Marketing for his work in corporate America.

Brooks was formerly a Director of Marketing at Lucent Technologies. Since 2002 the entrepreneur has served as the Founder and Managing Director of Alpha Multimedia, Inc., a marketing, public relations and publishing firm. His bestselling book, A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son's International Quest for Heritage, Reunion, and Enrichment, was named a Best Books Award Winner by USA Book News.

Brooks is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and also the National Black MBA Association. He enjoys public speaking, snow skiing, and running. He lives with his wife and children near Houston, Texas, USA.


A Wealth of Family Book Description: Heartwarming and Inspirational True Story Shows the Power of Love

This compelling, bestselling account of adoption, reunion and heritage provides a timely and provocative perspective on multicultural families and powerful insights on overcoming racism and poverty.

Brooks grew up as the only child of a struggling single mother in inner-city Pittsburgh. He was battling racial stereotypes at school and searching for a place among his peers. Then he was told at age eleven that he had been adopted as an infant. He did not know it at the time, but Brooks had actually been born to a white biological mother who descended from Lithuanian Jews and a black Kenyan foreign student father.

Years after that stunning revelation, Brooks escaped the ghetto and traveled to search for his heritage. He found his biological mother in London with his previously unknown British siblings. He then located his biological father and extended family in Nairobi. His international search and the resulting reunions have profoundly affected three families in the United States, England, and Kenya.
Thomas Brooks earned his B.S. Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA from the University of Maryland. The award-winning author has published several articles, and has been featured frequently on the radio and on television. In 1998, Brooks won a national award from the Career Communications Group in the category of Technical Sales and Marketing for his work in corporate America.

Brooks was formerly a Director of Marketing at Lucent Technologies. Since 2002 the entrepreneur has served as the Founder and Managing Director of Alpha Multimedia, Inc., a marketing, public relations and publishing firm. His bestselling book, A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son's International Quest for Heritage, Reunion, and Enrichment, was named a Best Books Award Winner by USA Book News.

Brooks is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and also the National Black MBA Association. He enjoys public speaking, snow skiing, and running. He lives with his wife and children near Houston, Texas, USA.


A Wealth of Family Book Description: Heartwarming and Inspirational True Story Shows the Power of Love

This compelling, bestselling account of adoption, reunion and heritage provides a timely and provocative perspective on multicultural families and powerful insights on overcoming racism and poverty.

Brooks grew up as the only child of a struggling single mother in inner-city Pittsburgh. He was battling racial stereotypes at school and searching for a place among his peers. Then he was told at age eleven that he had been adopted as an infant. He did not know it at the time, but Brooks had actually been born to a white biological mother who descended from Lithuanian Jews and a black Kenyan foreign student father.

Years after that stunning revelation, Brooks escaped the ghetto and traveled to s

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