Major General (MG) Anthony Woods received an early commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1984 through the ROTC program at the University of Texas at Arlington. He received a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Texas Christian University in 1987 and an M.S. from the United States Army War College in 2010. He served in several leadership positions in the 1st Battalion, 112th Armor Regiment in Dallas, TX. These positions include serving as the Battalion Executive Officer during Operation Noble Eagle.
Noble Eagle was the first deployment of troops to protect America's infrastructure from terrorist attacks after 9-11. In 2005, MG Woods became the first African American Commander of the 1st Battalion, 112th Armor, leading his unit in the first American training exercise in the country of Romania after the fall of the Soviet Union. In 2006, MG Woods served as Deputy Commander for Operation Jump Start (OJS), an initiative started by President Bush to secure the Southwest border.
MG Woods also served as the Deputy Commander of the Joint Interagency Task Force (JI-A-TF). JIATF was Texas' first attempt to establish a dedicated task force designed to support law enforcement during a man-made or natural disaster. MG Woods commanded the 136th Regional Training Institute in 2010, leading it to be awarded as an Institution of Excellence by the Army Training and Doctrine Command. In 2012, MG Woods deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, as the Task Force Commander of the Security Forces Agency Task Force (SFAT). SFAT oversaw and mentored Brigade-level and Kandak staff throughout Southern Afghanistan. From 2015 until now, MG Woods has served in various positions with the Texas State Guard, including his current position as the Commanding General of the Texas State Guard. As a former Dallas Police Officer and Special Agent (SA) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), SA Woods served in the Los Angeles Field Division before moving to the Houston Field Division, Waco Resident Office in 1999. In 2005, SA Woods transferred to the Houston office, where he served on several High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area teams (HIDTA) before moving to the technical group. MG Woods retired from the DEA in June 2018 and started his Private Investigation company, Checkmate Surveillance Investigators LLC.
MG Anthony Woods is married to Cecilia, formerly Cecilia Durham of Dallas, Texas; they have been married for 16 years and have seven children. Tony, a graduate of Tarleton State University; Amanda and Christen, both graduates of Sam Houston State University; Dalton, a graduate of North Texas State University; Ciara, a graduate of the College of Health Care Professionals; David is in the United States Air Force, stationed in Louisiana; and Daniel is a Senior at Lamar University. MG and Mrs. Woods have one grandson, Marcellus Marquise Pullom.