Military Career
Thomas enlisted in the Army in 1991. Prior to joining the Army he graduated from the University of Florida. He served as a Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment, eventually attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Thomas was a member of Task Force Ranger as a part of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. A main objective of the Task Force was to capture the elusive Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The most well known of their combat missions occurred October 3, 1993, when Thomas and fellow Task Force members were involved in the Battle of Mogadishu that was later immortalized in the book and movie Black Hawk Down, for which he was a consultant. He also served as a consultant for We Were Soldiers.
After Somalia, Thomas went on to serve as an assistant team leader on Ranger recon teams. His military decorations and achievements include the Bronze Star for Valor with the "V" device and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Thomas was awarded Master Parachute wings with over 400 jumps, the British and Belgian parachute wings and successfully completed the Army's Ranger School, Belgian Commando School, the Special Forces Combat Diver's School, the Army's Jumpmaster Course, Pathfinder School, Military Free Fall (MFF) School, Cold Weather Mountaineering School, and Medical Emergency School.
Read more about this topic: Keni Thomas
Famous quotes containing the words military and/or career:
“His ugliness was the stuff of legend. In an age of affordable beauty, there was something heraldic about his lack of it. The antique arm whined as he reached for another mug. It was a Russian military prosthesis, a seven-function force-feedback manipulator, cased in grubby pink plastic.”
—William Gibson (b. 1948)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)