| Brigadier General Albert Bryant, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Al |
| Born | February 22, 1952 |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1974 - 2008 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held | 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 | Iraq War *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) NATO Non-Article 5 Medal German Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr (Gold) Bronze Star Combat Action Badge Parachutist Badge |
Brigadier General Albert Bryant, Jr. (born February 22, 1952) is a retired American Army General, best known for service as the Chief of Western Hemisphere Operations during and in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack and as 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. Following a year in Kosovo as the Chief of Staff of KFOR, Bryant retired from the Army as the Director of Integration, Headquarters, Department of the Army, G8. From 1993 on, when he assumed command of the 4th Battalion, 67th Armor, and throughout his senior leadership career, Bryant frequently appeared in military and civilian media (in various interviews, as well as educational and safety spots); and he has been a regular speaker on military history and minority issues at military, civilian, and educational events.
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Bryant entered the Army from Newark, California and was commissioned Armor from the United States Military Academy in 1974. (West Point Class of 1974 classmates include incoming CIA director and former Iraq Multi-National Force Commander David Petraeus, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-select Martin Dempsey, retired Major General and Iraq-war objector John Batiste 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, 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, 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, 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 events.
Bryant was then assigned to the United States Army Command and General Staff College as the Director, Center for Army Tactics and selected for promotion to Brigadier General[1] in March 2003. In June 2003, Bryant 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 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, 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 June 27, 2005.
Bryant's final assignment was as the Director of Integration, Headquarters, Department of the Army, G8. at the Pentagon. He currently serves as a civilian consultant on military matters in the Washington, DC area.
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 School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and the Army War College, in addition to various professional certificates.
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 biological children (including Army CPT Albert-Francis "Paco" Bryant, a Bronze Star Medal with 'V' Device and ARCOM with 'V' Device awardee and veteran of four OIF/OEF tours), and are grandparents to two, one son by CPT Bryant and another, by daughter Gillian Bryant Toellner, an Air Force spouse. The Bryants also have a foster-parent like relationship with Stephanie Davis, who resided with the family for a number of years, and who has, at times, been referred to as a daughter by both Bryants, in various official speeches, and written programs/biographies.
Bryant is the brother of Emmy-winning writer and novelist Lori Bryant-Woolridge and defense contracting executive Gregory Bryant, and is father of Paul R. Ellis Award-winning broadcaster and writer Benjamin Bryant, better known in military circles as the managing editor of the official DoD report on the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, and lead editor of the 2010 DoD reports recommending the repeal of the 1993 Don't Ask, Don't Tell law for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In July 2011, youngest daughter, Veronica Bryant, entered USMAPS at the United States Military Academy, becoming the first of Bryant's children to follow him in the West Point tradition.
Bryant’s awards and decorations include: