Austin Founder Lions Club
DATE: November 11, 2021 12:30 pm via Zoom
Col. Brian Cook (Retired) Introduced by Lion Bill Martin
Transitioning from the Military is a tough endeavor. This Veterans Day, Retired Colonel Brian Cook will share what made Austin, Texas an ideal place to transition after more than 30 years of service in the Army to include Austin’s new importance to the Department of Defense, the exemplary benefits of being a Texas Veteran and how the Texas Veteran Community can help.
About our Speaker:
Commissioned as a second lieutenant of Armor from the United States Military Academy in 1990, COL Cook was assigned as a tank platoon leader in D Co. 4/37Armor in 1st Infantry Division where he deployed to Desert Shield and Storm.
Brian spent his company grade years continuing in 4/37 AR in 1st Infantry Division, company command in 2/12 CAV in 1st Cavalry Division and learning Turkish at DLI before attending Turkish CGSC in Istanbul.
He began his years as a Field Grade Officer in 1/409th CAV training National Guard units in the wake of 9/11 and then with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) at Ft. Irwin. During his time in the Blackhorse, he served as the Regimental S4, Squadron XO for 1st Squadron and ultimately, Regimental S3. As Regimental S3, the Regiment deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom III where Brian led several efforts to include the Elections for Ninewa & Dahuk provinces. Following Iraq, LTC Cook was assigned as the Chief of Operations for Operations Group at the National Training Center. The Army sent then-LTC Cook to 5th BDE, 1AD (AETF) where he served as the Brigade S3 and then as 1st Combined Arms Battalion Commander in the Future Combat Systems program. After battalion command, Brian deployed to serve on the USF-I staff in Baghdad; first as the J3 for the Deputy CG (A&T) then later as the Deputy J33 (Current Operations).
Following attendance at Naval War College, the Army assigned COL Cook as the G35, Chief of Future Operations of III Corps where he deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom serving as the Deputy CJ35 in ISAF Joint Command. After Afghanistan, Brian moved to the Pentagon to serve initially as the Assistant Director of Training and then as the Army’s Chief of Leader Development. The Army War College then asked him to be their G3 in 2015. After 2 years as the G3 in Carlisle, COL Cook transitioned to faculty to teach strategic planning and operational art/design to the USAWC resident course for more than 2 years. Brian’s last job in the Army was the Chief of Plans at Army Futures Command, where he led a team of planners and thinkers developing the long-term plan for Army Modernization. Brian retired from the Army in January 2020 and soon after joined IBM as the AFC & FORSCOM Account Manager in Austin, TX.
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