Ocean County Native Christie’s Choice for Guard Brigadier General

Governor Christie's nominee to be the New Jersey Air National Guard's next Brigadier General is Ocean County through and through.

Colonel Kevin J. Keehn is a Jackson native who now calls Bayville home. He's currently the Guard's Wing Commander at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, overseeing the 141st Air Refueling Squadron and 150th Special Operations Squadron. Also under his command are more than 25 support units including the first Contingency Response Group in the Air National Guard.

Information from the 108th Wing web page illustrates an impressive military career following the Colonel's graduation from Jackson Memorial in 1975. He enlisted in the Air Force and served in the Strategic Air Command as an in-flight refuler at bases in Michigan and California.

Colonel Keehn was honorably discharged after four years and enlisted in the New Jersey Air National Guard's 170th Air Refueling Group while working toward a degree at Monmouth University. He earned it in 1984, the same year he was commissioned through the Academy of Military Science and earned his pilot's wings at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.

Following combat training in Califormia, Keehn returned to the 170th as a KC-135 pilot. He's also been the Vice Commander and Standardization Chief for the 108th Operations Group and Operations Director for the 150th and 141st Air Refueling Squadrons.