Kenneth Mervyn Thomas (born July 1, 1965) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and former

United States Army Ranger United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

. Thomas was deployed in support of

Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...

as a member of

Task Force Ranger Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American force code-named ''Task Force Ranger'' during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farra ...

in Somalia, and served in the Battle of Mogadishu. Thomas works as a motivational speaker drawing from this experience as an Army Ranger. As a country singer, Thomas has recorded several independently released albums. Two singles, from the album ''Flags of Our Fathers: A Soldier's Story'' charted on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. Thomas appeared in a pair of 2011 episodes of FX television show '' Louie'', portraying himself in a fictionalized version of a real U.S.O. visit to Afghanistan (season 2 episodes 11 and 12).

Military career

Thomas enlisted in the Army in 1991. Prior to joining the Army he graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He served in the 3rd Ranger Battalion, eventually attaining the rank of

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

. Thomas was a member of Task Force Ranger as a part of

in Somalia. A main objective of the Task Force was to capture the elusive Somali warlord

Mohamed Farrah Aidid Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid ( so, Maxamed Faarax Xasan Caydiid; ar, محمد فرح حسن عيديد; 15 December 1934 – 1 August 1996) was a Somali general and diplomat. Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he served as a chief in the Italian ...

. 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 '' Black Hawk Down'' and its subsequent

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

, for which he served as a consultant. Tac Fitzgerald portrayed him in the film. Twenty years later he returned to Mogadishu with fellow veteran

Jeff Struecker Jeffery Dean Struecker (March 7, 1969)Curriculum Vitae
,

We Were Soldiers ''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book '' We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, i ...

''. 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 A "V" device is a metal capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes an award for heroism or valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement. ...

and the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

. Thomas was awarded Master Parachute wings with over 400 jumps, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Belgian parachute wings, and successfully completed the Army's

Ranger School The United States Army Ranger School is a 62-day small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training wa ...

, 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.

Youth counselor and speaker

Upon leaving active duty service, Thomas worked as a youth counselor. He also became a speaker, giving presentations to various audiences across the United States. Represented by Premiere Speakers Bureau, Thomas draws from his experiences on the battlefield, and inspires people to achieve greatness by stressing the importance of outstanding leadership at every level, even if the only person you are leading is yourself.

Author

In 2011, Thomas wrote and released his first book, entitled "Get It On." The book tells his personal account from October 1993 when he was writing a letter to his mom, then heard the words "get it on," said by one of his Army Ranger superiors. Thomas geared up, loaded into a Blackhawk helicopter, and headed for Mogadishu,

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, where he would become one of the lucky servicemen to return from what would become known as Black Hawk Down, a battle that lasted two days, took 18 lives and wounded an additional 73 soldiers.

Musical career

Thomas formed the band Cornbread and began his career in music by performing with the band in and around

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. Cornbread made a bigger name for itself during the middle to the late 1990s and extended its shows to college campuses such as Auburn University. Thomas and Cornbread released several albums, including ''Flags of Our Fathers'', which was released under the artist's name, Keni Thomas. Cornbread was also featured in the movie ''

Sweet Home Alabama "Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album ''Second Helping'' (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's 1970 song "Southern Man", which the band felt blamed the e ...

'', starring Reese Witherspoon. In the movie, Keni and his bandmates perform the feature song, "

" (originally recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd in the late 1970s), for which the movie was named. Thomas donates some of the proceeds to the Hero Fund, which directs those funds to the

Special Operations Warrior Foundation The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) is an American tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1980 to provide college scholarships and educational counseling to the surviving children of American Special Operations per ...

, an organization created to provide college scholarships and financial aid to the children of deceased or wounded

Special Operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

. Thomas has made several appearances on the famed

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

, including his most recent performance in May 2014. He has appeared on several television shows to talk about his book and his time during the Battle of Mogadishu, including

Huckabee ''Huckabee'', formerly on Fox News, is a TV political commentary program, following the basic format of a late-night talk variety show, on TBN hosted by former Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. It premiered on Fox News on September ...

and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

. Thomas has performed the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

several times, including game one of the 2009 World Series and again in 2012, as well as for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

2010. Thomas appeared in a 2011 episode of the FX television show '' Louie'', portraying himself in a fictionalized version of a real

U.S.O. The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

visit to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

he took with comedian

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

in December 2008. Thomas' song "Hold The Line" was featured in the May 2014 feature documentary, The Hornet's Nest, which uses real footage to tell the story of an elite group of U.S. troops sent on a dangerous mission deep inside one of

's most hostile valleys. On Sunday, June 8, 2014, Thomas sang the National Anthem for the unveiling of Allied Paratrooper Monument in honor of the 70th Anniversary of the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

in Normandy, France. He performed with the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

Color Guard.

Discography

Albums

As Cornbread

As Keni Thomas

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Official Keni Thomas websiteSomalia to country star: UF grad's storySt. Petersburg Times article on Keni ThomasDecember 2007 edition of Playgrounds Magazine, featuring an interview with Keni Thomas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Keni American country singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Columbus, Georgia United States Army Rangers United States Army soldiers University of Florida alumni 1965 births Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)