Free Airborne (1997) by Tom Clancy Page A

struck by the image of the corps badge: a powerful blue dragon on a white background. It is a beautiful insignia, and one worthy of and appropriate for the collection of units under the corps’ command. Up on the second floor is the commanding general’s warm paneled office, which reeks of the six decades of service XVIII Airborne Corps has rendered to the country and the world. Battle streamers hang in the dozens from the flag-pole in the corner, and there is a feeling of power in the room. This is further enhanced by the reputations of some of the men who have occupied the office. Recent commanders have included General Gary Luck, who took the Corps to the Persian Gulf in 1990, and then fought it there in 1991. The last commander, General Hugh Shelton, currently commands the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill AFB, Florida, where he controls the nation’s force of “snake eaters.” Today, though, the post of XVIII Airborne Corps commander is occupied by a man who is making his own mark on this office, Lieutenant General John M. Keane.
    John Keane is a strong man, over six feet tall. But don’t let the physical attributes of this powerful man confuse you. A career paratrooper and infantryman, he has spent the bulk of his life within the units of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Let’s meet him.

    Lieutenant General John Keane, USA. General Keane is the commander of the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps.
    OFFICIAL U.S. ARMY PHOTO
     
    Tom Clancy: Could you please tell us a little about your background and Army career?
     
    General Keane: I grew up in New York City, right in midtown Manhattan. Not many people think of Manhattan as a place to live. I was born and grew up there, as did my wife. I attended Fordham University and graduated in 1966. While at the University, I joined the Army ROTC [Reserve Officer Training Corps] program.
     
    Tom Clancy: What made you want to choose the military as a career?
     
    General Keane: At Fordham, I was exposed early to the ROTC program, and I just liked the people who were in it. I was in the Pershing Rifles, which was a military fraternity, and liked the people who were part of it. Perhaps the deciding factor was that most of the people involved in the military programs at Fordham seemed to me a little bit more mature and had a better sense of direction than the average college student that I was dealing with. We also had a number of students who had returned to school while in the military and had some very good things to say about it. So I stayed with it, and came into my first unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, in 1966. Then I was assigned to the 101st Airborne.
     
     
    Tom Clancy: You seem to have spent much of your career around XVIII Airborne Corps. Is that a fair statement?
     
    General Keane: In terms of units in the [XVIII Airborne] corps, I guess I’ve had ten or twelve different types of jobs and assignments with it. I started with a platoon in the 82nd, then was a platoon leader and company commander in the 101st in Vietnam, and a brigade commander and chief of staff with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. Later I was chief of staff and [had] assorted other jobs here at XVIII Airborne Corps for Gary Luck when he commanded [post-Desert Storm], and finally [was] division commander of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for thirty-three months. That’s three of the four divisions in the corps, and that experience has been very valuable to me. It gives me an inside perspective on the capabilities of those different organizations, as well as a certain comfort that I might not have had I not been a part of them at one time.
     
     
    Tom Clancy: What drew you toward the airborne career track when you came into the Army?
     
    General Keane: When I joined the Army, the airborne were, not too surprisingly, our [countryʼs] elite soldiers, with a reputation for outstanding non-commissioned officers [NCOs], a high standard of discipline,