Jack Keane


John M. "Jack" Keane is a retired American four-star general, former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. He is a national security analyst, primarily on Fox News, and serves as chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and as chairman of AM General.

Early life and education

Keane was born in 1943 in Manhattan, New York, the son of Elizabeth and John Keane. He has a brother, Ronald.
Keane attended Fordham University, where he participated in the Pershing Rifles, graduating with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1966. He then attended Western Kentucky University, graduating with a master's degree in philosophy. He later attended the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College.

Military career

Keane served in the Vietnam War as a paratrooper, leading in combat as a platoon leader and company commander. He is eligible for the Combat Infantry Badge and the Master Parachutist Badge. He later served in U.S. engagements in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. His commands include the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, 101st Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
In 1991 Keane saved the life of David Petraeus during a live-fire exercise. According to Keane, Petraeus was shot "accidentally, standing right next to me, and I had to fight to save his life. He had a hole about the size of a quarter in his back and is gushing with blood, and we stopped the bleeding and got him on a helicopter and got him to a surgeon and so we were sort of bonded ever since that time."
Keane retired from military service in 2003.

Post military service

Following his retirement, he has served as an informal advisor to presidents and other senior officials. He served an advisory role in the management of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, as a member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee. In January 2007, Keane and scholar Frederick W. Kagan released a policy paper titled "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq," through the American Enterprise Institute that called for bringing security by putting 30,000 additional American troops there for a period of at least 18 months. In part convinced by this paper, President George W. Bush ordered on January 10, 2007, the deployment of 21,500 additional troops to Iraq, most of whom would be deployed to Baghdad. This deployment has been nicknamed the 2007 "surge".
Of his initial meeting with President Bush regarding the surge, Keane said he made a phone call to Newt Gingrich to ask his advice prior to the meeting. As Keane said in 2014,
Gingrich gave me some good advice. He said, "Look, Jack. Most people go in the Oval Office, even people who go in there a lot, have a tendency in front of the President of the United States to always leave something on the table." He said, "Don't leave anything on the table." He said, "You're going to get about 15 minutes at best and put it all out there. And when you walk out of that room, feel good that you got it all out there." So that was sound advice, and I did put it all out there.

Keane was asked by then-Vice President Cheney to go back on active duty and lead the surge in the field. When Keane declined, Cheney pressed him to come work in the White House and oversee both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; Keane again declined. Keane ended up briefly working at the White House and then later traveled to Iraq several times to advise General Petraeus.

Current activities

Keane is a regular contributor to Fox News, and is involved in a variety of business, think tank and charitable activities. He serves as chairman of AM General, the firm that produces the Humvee.. In June 2016, Keane co-founded IP3 International, a nuclear energy consulting firm.
Keane is an advisor to the Spirit of America, a 501 organization. He formerly served as a strategic advisor for Academi and is a former director of defense giant General Dynamics.
In November 2016, shortly after Stanley A. McChrystal declined the Secretary of Defense job, Keane was offered an appointment to the post, but declined, citing the death of his wife several months earlier. After Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned in December 2018, Trump again offered the job to Keane, who again declined.
Keane is considered an influential voice to leaders from both major political parties, including President Trump, particularly on foreign policy issues related to the Middle East.

IP3

Keane is a cofounder and director of IP3 International.
According to a staff report to the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign of Donald Trump, and subsequently, Trump aides such as Jared Kushner and others have been engaged in promoting IP3's plan to transfer nuclear technology from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia. According to the report, IP3 founders and others have been seeking to broker a deal with Riyadh without the "gold standard," a provision -- tied to section 123 of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act which establishes conditions for nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and its allies -- that seeks to limit weaponizing of nuclear energy.
In July 2019, the committee chairman released a second staff report that detailed various activities and contacts between IP3 and the Trump administration.

Personal life

Keane married Theresa Doyle in 1965 and has two sons. His wife died in 2016 after having Parkinson's disease for 14 years.

Awards and decorations

Military awards Keane has received include two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star, five Legion of Merits, the Bronze Star Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, one Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Chiefs Service Badge, the Humanitarian Service Medal, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge.
President Donald Trump awarded Keane the Presidential Medal of Freedom on March 10, 2020.
His civilian awards include the Fordham University Distinguished Alumni Award, the USO 2002 Man of the Year award, and the Association of the United States Army 2001 Man of the Year award.