Brigadier General Alfred F. Abramson III became Deputy Program Executive Officer Ammunition and Senior Commander Picatinny Arsenal on Nov. 14, 2016, leading the mission to develop and procure conventional and leap-ahead munitions to increase the Warfighter's combat power. Prior to his arrival to Picatinny, he was the Deputy, Joint Program Executive Officer for Chemical and Biological Defense. His military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster; the Army Meritorious Service Medal, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster; the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster; the Army Achievement Medal, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster; and various other awards to include the Air Assault Badge; Parachutist Badge; and the Army Staff Identification Badge.
In 2003, Shelia Baxter, VSU Class of 1979, was appointed as Brigadier General and became the first female general officer in the Army Medical Service Corps. She has served in military healthcare supply and management posts at home and abroad, previously as Assistant Surgeon General for Force Sustainment/Deputy Chief of Staff for Sustainmnent/Chief, U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. While a student at Virginia State University, she was the 1976 CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament MVP, became the first Virginia State player to score 1,000 points within four years, and was named to the All-CIAA team from 1973-1977. She was also voted to the Muhammad Ali Women's Collegiate All-American team in 1976-1977 and played two years in the All-Army Basketball League in 1977-1978. In 2007, she was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame. Among her awards, decorations, and badges, she is also a licensed Evangelist with the Church of God in Christ, Inc.
As a Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC) graduate of VSU in 1954, Major General Leo Brooks, Sr. rose to the rank of major general. His two sons also rose to the ranks of General. His oldest son, Brigadier General Leo A. Brooks, Jr. was among the first African-Americans to graduate from West Point with the rank of regimental commander, supervising one of four regiments at the academy. A year later, his youngest son, Vincent Brooks was the first African American to graduate as first captain, the highest possible student rank.
Alfred J. Cade, VSU Class of 1952, retired as a Brigadier General (one-star) in the United States Army. Some of his military awards included the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star. After retirement, he entered the private sector and joined Caesar’s World, Inc., becoming an integral part of the senior management team for Caesar’s Atlantic City Resort and Casino in New Jersey. While at Caesar’s, Cade was responsible for all personnel oversight, from employee training to licensing and organizational relationships. Cade would have a prosperous career at Caesar’s, leaving the company in 1996 as the Senior Vice President for Government Relations. This experience of working with government led Cade to join the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education as its chairman. While serving on the Commission, Cade helped lead New Jersey through a restructuring phase of its higher education system, pushing for student rights and affordability. Cade also served on the Boards of Trustees of Rowan University in New Jersey, Atlantic Cape Community College, also in New Jersey, and VSU.
Brig. Gen. Charles. R. Hamilton assumed command of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support on July 13, 2015. Under his leadership, DLA Troop Support annually provides $13 billion worth of food, clothing and textiles, construction and engineering equipment, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment, as well as industrial hardware items for America's warfighters and other valued customers worldwide. To accomplish the mission, Brig. Gen. Hamilton oversees a global workforce of approximately 2,900 civilian and military personnel.
Brigadier General (R) Bert Holmes, Jr., VSU Class of ’62 & ‘70, was a urological surgeon in civilian life and a 13-year veteran of the Virginia Army National Guard. Throughout his distinguished National Guard career, he served as Commander of the Guard's medical detachment in Richmond, and as the Guard's Flight Surgeon. (He was the first African-American state surgeon in the Virginia National Guard). In his regular Army career, he served as a company Commander with the Fourth Infantry Division. As Brigadier General he served as the Assistant Adjutant General, Virginia Department of Military Affairs, which commands the Army and Air National Guard in the Commonwealth.
Major General (R) Ernest R. Morgan, VSU Class of 1952, made national headlines in 1975 when he was captured in Beirut, Lebanon by Lebanese terrorists and released 13 days later. He went on to become the Adjutant General of the D.C. National Guard and finally the Commanding General of the National Guard of the U.S. Virgin Islands. His military career spanned 35 years. He had a tour of duty in Korea and in Vietnam and retired in 1987.
Lt. General Alonzo Short, Jr., VSU Class of 1962, retired as a three-star general officer, and was the highest ranking African-American on active duty in the Army after General Colin Powell's retirement. While in the service, he was in charge of a communications system that kept the White House and all the branches of the military linked around the world.
Armed with a degree in industry arts from Virginia State University in 1980, four-star General Dennis L. Via began his Army career as a platoon leader and, later, battalion maintenance officer and commander at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Principal Director, Global Information Grid Operations/Commander, Defense Information Systems Agency Global Operations/Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, Defense Information Systems Agency. He was selected to the rank of Brigadier General on January 1, 2005. He last served as the 18th commanding general of the United States Army Material Command from August 7, 2012 to September 30, 2016, which is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, AL. He was the first Signal Corps Officer since General Henry H. Arnold to achieve four-star rank. He retired from the Army on September 30, 2016 after over 36 years of service.
Brigadier General (R) Montague Winfield, VSU Class of 1977, held numerous command and staff positions throughout his Army career. In 1992, he assumed command of, 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry, 194th SAB, XVIII Airborne Corps, a combined arms task force consisting of armor, infantry and field artillery units - the only one of its kind in the Army. The 10th Cavalry is widely known by its nickname, the "Buffalo Soldiers." He also served as the Deputy Director for Operations, J3, in the National Military Command Center and was as the General Officer in Charge during the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Among other honors, he was nominated, competed for and earned a position as Senior Military Fellow at the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, a national membership organization and "think tank" headquartered in New York City.
Brigadier General William Thigpen, VSU Class of 1992, was nominated for the rank of Brigadier General, the fourth highest rank that can be achieved in the U.S Army in 2017. Thigpen served as the deputy commander of 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, Colo. He has commanded U.S. Army formations at every level from Company through Brigade to include the 316th Cavalry Brigade at Fort Benning, Ga. He is a combat veteran of campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. His staff assignments have included serving as the Aide-de-camp to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.
Brigadier General James S. Moore, Jr., VSU Class of 1989, was nominated for the rank of Brigadier General, the fourth highest rank that can be achieved in the U.S Army in 2017. Brig, General Moore commaned the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command and has served in various command and staff positions throughout his career to include Balad, Iraq; Fort Monroe, VA; Washington, DC; Fort Belvoir, VA and Vicenza, Italy.
First Lieutenant Ruppert L. Sargent, VSU Class of 1960, was the first African-American officer in history to receive the nation's highest militiary honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. This was given for his bravery in the Vietnam War. He was killed after throwing himself on an enemy grenade in 1967. His heroism saved the lives of men in his platoon.
Join the VSUAA-Richmond Metro Chapter at Operation Harvest on Thursday, November 21, 2024, from 3 - 6:00 PM at the Richmond Raceway. If interested in volunteering, please contact Chapter President Holly Jackson-Conrad at
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