Acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. John M. Keane briefs reporters on how the U.S. Army is organizing to rotate forces supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom during a Pentagon press briefing on July 23, 2003. DoD photo by R.D. Ward. (Released
Retired four-star general and former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Jack Keane will deliver the 11th annual Farmers Bank and Trust Distinguished Speaker Series on October 29, 2015, at Southern Arkansas University.
Tickets for the event are now on sale. To purchase tickets by phone, call the SAU Office of Development at 870-235-4321. Tickets can be purchased online at www.SAUFoundation.org by clicking the “Make a Gift” button.
A private reception with Keane will be held at 6 p.m. at the Farmers Bank and Trust main branch in Magnolia. The dinner and lecture will be held in the SAU Reynolds Center Grand Hall at 7 p.m.
Tickets start at $100 for the dinner and lecture. Tickets are $200 to attend the dinner, lecture, private reception, and obtain an autographed photo with Keane. All proceeds from this lecture series benefit SAU students through scholarships.
Sponsorship opportunities are also offered through the SAU Foundation. A Blue Sponsorship, $800, includes eight tickets for the dinner and lecture, two tickets for the private reception with photo, a table in the Blue Section with the sponsor’s name displayed on the table and in the program. The Gold Sponsorship, $2,000, includes eight tickets to the dinner, lecture and private reception with photo. Gold Sponsor tables also enjoy premium seating and name displayed in the program and on the table.
Gen. John Keane, U.S. Army, vice chief of staff, briefs Pentagon reporters on some of the proposed changes to the headquarters organization of the U.S. Army. The Dec. 18, 2001, briefing highlighted the efforts by both the Army and Air Force to comply with the management imperatives laid down in a speech made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the day before the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks against the United States. (Released)
General Keane completed 37 years in public service in December 2003, culminating as acting Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. As the chief operating officer of the Army for 4½ years, he directed one million, five hundred thousand soldiers and civilians in 120 countries, with an annual operating budget of $110 billion. He was in the Pentagon on 9/11 and provided oversight and support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He serves as a national security analyst for Fox News and speaks throughout the nation on national security and leadership.
Since 2004, Gen. Keane conducted frequent trips to Iraq for senior defense officials having completed multiple visits during the surge period. Still active in national security, he continues to advise senior government officials on national security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He recently completed an assessment for Generals Mattis and Allen in Afghanistan.
He is a senior partner in venture capital firm SCP Partners and is president of consulting firm GSI Group, LLC. He is also a director of MetLife and General Dynamics. He is a member of the Secretary of Defense’s Policy Board, the George C. Marshall Foundation, the Center for Strategy and Budget Assessment, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Smith Richardson Foundation, chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, chairman of the Knollwood Foundation, a trustee at Fordham University, and an advisor to two foundations assisting our veterans: Welcome Back Veterans and American Corporate Partners and serves as a strategic advisor and consultant to ACADEMI, a leading training and security solutions provider.
Gen. Keane is a career paratrooper, a combat veteran of Vietnam, decorated for valor, who spent much of his military life in operational commands where his units were employed in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. He commanded the famed 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the legendary 18th Airborne Corps, the Army’s largest war fighting organization.
Gen. Keane graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy from Western Kentucky University. He is a graduate of the Army War College and the Command and General Staff College. He and his wife, Theresa, have been married for more than 47 years, and have two adult sons, Matthew and Daniel.
