Brent C. Bankus retired on 1 January 2005 as a promotable Lieutenant Colonel from the Army National Guard Active Guard Reserve Program with over 25 years of service. His military career, encompassed command and staff positions in the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, and the Army Reserve.

He has served in assignments in the United States and Germany (3-11thArmored Cavalry Regiment; 3-68th Armor) as well as fact finding missions to Bosnia, Kosovo, the Sinai, Eritrea, Guam, and Hawaii and a staff training mission to Tirana, Albania.  Other assignments included Executive Officer of the National Guard Bureau’s Counter Drug Directorate; Director of Joint Training and Exercises, U.S. Army Peacekeeping Institute, and National Guard Advisor to the Director, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.

Post-retirement, LTC (R) Bankus did contract work with the United Nations Environment Program; SERCO, North America; Blackwater USA; Northrop Grumman’s African Contingency Operations Training Assistance in Benin and South Africa; Metro Productions; Excalibur Associates and the U.S. Naval War College’s Defense Institute of International Legal Studies in Honduras and Ecuador. 

As a DA civilian in 2009, he worked for the National Security Issues Group, U.S. Army War College with focus areas of Environmental Security; The United Nations; Stability, Stabilization, and Reconstruction Operations; Homeland Defense/Security; Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Operations. In January 2012 he was reassigned to the U.S. Army Military History Institute as a Supervisory Historian for their Oral History Program. In 2019 he was reassigned as Program Manager to the Army Strategic Education Program office, for 23 General Officer level courses and over 600 General Officers in the Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard.

 He has a Bachelor of Science degree in History from Bloomsburg University, PA; a Master’s of Science degree in Information Management from Strayer University, VA, a Master’s of Science degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and is a graduate of the Information Management Course (a Masters equivalent certificate) from National Defense University.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps Command and General Staff Colleges and the U.S. Army War College.

 Has over 60 publications to his name.