Albert Bryant Jr

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Brigadier General Albert Bryant, Jr.
born February 22, 1952
Image:AlBryant.jpg
BG Albert Bryant, Jr. delivers a farewell address to the soldiers of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in May 2004.
Nickname Al
Allegiance United States Army
Years of service 1974 - present
Rank Brigadier General
Commands Commander, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 67th Armor, 2nd Armored Division
Commander, 4th Battalion, 67th Armor “Bandits”, 1st Armored Division
Commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division
Director, Center for Army Tactics, Army Command and General Staff College
Battles/wars Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq)
Operation Joint Endeavor (Bosnia)
Awards Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (7 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
National Defense Service Medal (2 Stars)
Bronze Star Medal
Combat Action Badge
Parachutist Badge

Brigadier General Albert Bryant, Jr. (born February 22, 1952) is an African-American Army General currently serving as NATO Chief of Staff for the Kosovo Force. General Bryant was the Chief of Western Hemisphere Operations in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack and was Assistant Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division at the time of the division's detection and capture of fugitive deposed Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein.

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[edit] Background

General Bryant entered the Army from Newark, California and was commissioned Armor from the United States Military Academy in 1974. (1974 West Point contemporaries include Iraq Multi-National Force Commander David Petraeus and astronaut Michael Clifford.) After graduation, he attended the Armor Officer Basic Course and then assigned to 3d Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Amberg, Germany as platoon leader and troop executive officer. Following the Armor Officer’s Advanced Course, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 67th Armor, 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas, as S3 (Air) and then as Commander, Company A.

He then attended graduate school at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California (where, among others, he was instructed by future Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice), receiving his Masters of Science Degree in Operations Research and Systems Analysis in 1983.

In 1986, General Bryant attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies receiving a Masters of Military Arts and Sciences. Subsequently he was assigned as Chief, Plans and Exercises G3, 5th Infantry Division, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and then as Executive Officer, 1st Battalion 70th Armor, and then as S3 for the 1st Raider Brigade.

In 1991, General Bryant joined the Army Staff and the Directorate of Program Analysis and Evaluation as a Combat Systems Analyst. In 1993, he assumed command of the 4th Battalion, 67th Armor “Bandits”, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Hesse Germany (the current designation of former soldier Elvis Presley's unit).

Upon completion of command he was reassigned as Chief of Plans, G3, V Corps and served as Chief Planner for Operation Joint Endeavor, IFOR operations in Bosnia.

In 1996, General Bryant returned from deployment attending the Army War College’s Operational Warfighting Fellowship at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In April 1998 he assumed command of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Departing the “Bulldog Brigade” in 2000 he assumed duties as Chief, Western Hemisphere Operations, J3, the Joint Staff in Washington D.C., serving as Chief of Western Hemisphere Operations during and in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy.

General Bryant was then assigned to the United States Army Command and General Staff College as the Director, Center for Army Tactics and, in June 2003 he was assigned as Assistant Division Commander (Support), 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Task Force Ironhorse conducting combat operations as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was during this time that the 4th ID played the primary role in the location and capture of fugitive deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

In April 2004, the Division redeployed to Fort Hood, Texas to refit in preparation for future operations and General Bryant reported to duty at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to serve as the Deputy Commanding General, US Army Armor Center and Fort Knox, and head the Unit of Action Maneuver Battle Lab, or UAMBL. The following year, General Bryant was selected as Chief of Staff of NATO's Kosovo Force,KFOR, and relocated to Kosovo, assuming his position at a NATO installation ceremony on 27 June 2005.

[edit] Education

General Bryant holds an undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and earned a master's degree from Stanford University. He holds graduate degrees from the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College and Army War College, in addition to various professional certificates.

[edit] Heritage and Family Connections

General Bryant is of African-American, Chinese-American, and Irish-Scottish Celtic ethnicity, and is the son of African-American Army Reserve General Albert Bryant, Sr. He has been married to the former Renée Saxton since 1975, recipient of the Order of St. Joan D'Arc Medallion, member of the Honorable Order of Molly Pitcher, and recipient of two of the Department of the Army's highest Civilian Honors, the Outstanding Civilian Service Award and Commander's Award for Public Service. They have four children (including Army CPT Albert-Francis "Paco" Bryant, a Bronze Star Medal awardee and veteran of three OIF/OEF tours), and are grandparents to two. General Bryant is the brother of Emmy-winning writer and novelist Lori Bryant-Woolridge and father of Paul R. Ellis Award-winning broadcaster and blogger Benjamin Bryant.

[edit] Key Campaigns

  • Operation Iraqi Freedom, assigned as Assistant Division Commander (Support), 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), and Task Force Ironhorse, based in Tikrit, Iraq; 2003 - 2004

[edit] Awards and Decorations

General Bryant’s awards and decorations include:

[edit] External links

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