General set to become first black commander of Fort Benning

Monday afternoon when Maj. Gen. Gary M. Brito assumes command of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, he will make history.

In Fort Benning’s 100th year of existence, Brito will become the first black commander of the U.S. Army post.

One of the former officers who has taken note of the moment is retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who served as Fort Benning assistant commander in 1998 and 1999.

“Hopefully we are at a point – and I think we have been at that point at Fort Benning for a long time – that we judge people based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin,” Honoré said this week during a telephone interview from his home in Louisiana. “He’s going to do a great job.”

Brito will replace Maj. Gen. Eric J. Wesley, who has been promoted to deputy commanding general, Futures/director, for the Army Capabilities Integration Center, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

Brito comes back to Fort Benning from the the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, La., where he has been the commanding general. Honoré, best known for his work in the aftermath of Hurricane in New Orleans in 2005, and Brito briefly served together before Honoré retired in 2008.

Fort Benning is named after Henry L. Benning, a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. It is the second post that Brito has commanded that was named for a Confederate general. Fort Polk is named for Leonidas Polk, who later became the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana.

“Honestly, I am very happy to see Gen. Brito get that position,” Honoré said. “If this had happened 10 or 15 years ago, it would have probably been front-page headlines. Today, I am glad we are moving to a point where it’s a point of fact of his ethnicity. And people will look at that, more from a standpoint of identifying when they meet him, who he is and where he came from. He’s a product of what this Army for years has been working to produce: competent leaders capable to go anywhere and lead and do any job.”

The last four Fort Benning commanders are still on active duty and serving in critical positions in the Army and government.

Gen. Robert Brown is commander of the U.S. Army Pacific; Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is the national security adviser to President Donald Trump; Lt. Gen. Scott Miller is commander of the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg; and Wesley is moving into the three-star post McMaster held before being elevated.

Brito is in a good spot, Honoré said.

“That is pure indication that with all things happening right for him, he’s in a position to make a difference in the Army and continue to grow with potential for promotion, which is always a good place to be in,” Honoré said.

Brito was commissioned through ROTC as an Infantry Officer in March 1987 after graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning. He also holds a Master of Science in Human Resources from Troy University and a Master of Science in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy from the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va.

He is no stranger to Fort Benning. He was a lieutenant colonel with the Third Brigade at Fort Benning in 2004. He went through the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning. He also earned his Ranger tab at Fort Benning.

“Fort Benning is a dynamic place and he better have his ‘hooah’ on when he gets there,” Honoré said. “It’s the home of hooah.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 1:30 PM with the headline "General set to become first black commander of Fort Benning."