The U.S. military is playing a major role in providing humanitarian relief and security in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, and an Eastern Kentucky University graduate is field commander for the operation.
Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the U.S. Southern Command, a native of Hyden, graduated from EKU in 1974, according to Marc Whitt, the university’s chief communications officer. Keen was inducted into the EKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2000.
Keen left EKU with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and an Army second lieutenant’s commission, and has had a distinguished 35-year career that has taken him to all corners of the globe, Whitt said.
This current duty is not the highly decorated general’s first assignment to Haiti. He led previous U.S. operations there and in other countries around the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, including Panama and Grenada. He also has served in Iraq.
Keen has been awarded a Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters.
He also holds a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and the Brazilian Command and Staff College in Rio de Janeiro.
When he was inducted into EKU’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni, Keen said, “Eastern provided the sound educational experience and leadership foundation for me to succeed as a leader in the U.S. Army. In particular, the ROTC program and professors challenged me to set goals and strive to do my best at a critical point in my life.
“Those mentors — officers and non-commissioned officers in ROTC and my math and education professors — challenged me to do my best and not be satisfied with the status quo. As a result, I graduated first in my ROTC class and was the first ROTC cadet at Eastern to graduate from Airborne and Ranger School. This provided me with the self-confidence and motivation necessary to meet the leadership challenge that I would face as an Army officer .
“Eastern Kentucky University certainly has given me more than I could ever repay.”
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
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