Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
6:51 | LTG Ken Keen reflects on the importance of mentors in his career, beginning with the ROTC instructor who talked him into going to Ranger school while still in college. When he retired from the Army, he found a way to carry this forward at Emory University.
Keywords : Ken Keen Ranger Harley Davis Eastern Kentucky University special forces Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Airborne School Jump School Ranger School Fort Benning Fort Ord 7th Infantry Division Volunteer Army Goizueta Business School Emory University
There was a concern that Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles could be fired against Israel, so a Ranger detachment was one of the units inserted into Iraq to make sure that did not happen. As part of this operation, LTG Ken Keen was helped by the close camaraderie among Rangers, men that he already knew and men that he just met and could trust.
Ever since he was in ROTC, LTG Ken Keen wanted to be part of the Rangers. It wasn't until he was a major that he made that happen. During Operation Just Cause, he had to miss the jump because of a training mishap, but he still joined the command team on the ground in Panama.
LTG Ken Keen draws on his long career as an Army Ranger to explain what makes the Rangers so special and how the creed is not just something you recite in the morning.
Based on the experience from a long career as an Army Ranger, LTG Ken Keen has some advice for young Rangers and some gratitude for those who have undergone extensive service following 9/11. He also notes how their influence has spread throughout the services since Gen. Creighton Abrams' charter which established the modern Ranger battalions.
After commanding the 75th Ranger Regiment, LTG Ken Keen's next assignment was with the US Southern Command. During an official visit to Haiti, he was caught up in the massive earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. The value of his Ranger networking was proven in the relief effort that followed.
During the earthquake relief effort in Haiti, LTG Ken Keen ran into a sergeant he knew who had a request for the commanders of the operation. He wanted to see friendly waves when he left, not other gestures.
LTG Ken Keen well remembers the 61 days of Ranger School that transformed his life. He says it has far exceeded the dreams of its founders and its lessons are reflected throughout the armed forces.
