BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN MAJOR GENERAL CHARLES W. HOOPER : FIRST CLASS UNITED STATES ARMY GENERAL : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS"

Major General Charles W Hooper, a native of Willingboro, New Jersey, is a 1979 graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Following graduation, he served as a training company executive officer at the U.S. Army Armor Center, Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1981, MG Hooper reported to the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii where he was an infantry platoon leader, battalion air operations officer, brigade air operations officer, assistant brigade operations officer and infantry company commander.
MG Hooper received a Masters in Public Administration Degree, with honors, from Harvard University in 1989. He was awarded the Don K. Price Award for Academic Excellence and Public Service and was the first Harvard Kennedy School of Government student selected as the Graduate Student Commencement Speaker for a Harvard University Commencement.
Following graduate school, MG Hooper reported to the Defense Liaison Office, US Consulate General Hong Kong.  During this tour, he studied Chinese language and traveled extensively in China, Russia, and Mongolia.  He then served as a Brigade Logistics Officer and Battalion Executive Officer in the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  In 1995, MG Hooper became the Assistant Army Attaché, Defense Attaché Office, US Embassy, Beijing, China.   Upon returning from China in 1998, MG Hooper assumed command of the US Army Recruiting Battalion, Phoenix, Arizona responsible for Army recruiting in the Southwest US.
Following battalion command, MG Hooper reported to the Army Staff and assumed duties as the Deputy Division Chief and Senior Asia-Pacific Planner and Strategist, War Plans Division. In 2001 he became the Senior Country Director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, before returning to the Army Staff in 2003 as Chief of the Army International Affairs Division.
MG Hooper returned to Harvard University in 2005 as an Army Chief of Staff Research Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.  He then served as a lecturer, Senior Army Officer and Foreign Area Officer Coordinator at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.   He was then appointed the U.S. Defense Attaché to People’s Republic of China serving from 2007 until 2009.       MG Hooper’s previous assignment was U.S. Pacific Command, Deputy Director, J-5, Strategic Planning and Policy, serving from 2009 until 2011.
MG Hooper is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Armor Officer Career Course, Defense Language Institute, US Army Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College.  He is also a graduate of the British Ministry of Defense Chinese Language School, Hong Kong.  His military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Senior Parachute Badge, Air Assault Badge and the US Army Recruiter Badge.
MG Hooper is fluent in the Mandarin dialect of Chinese, the national language of China