Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV
I Got The News Today (IGTNT) is one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos. It is a way for our community to pay respect to those who have died as a result of war.
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Charles Keating IV shared his name with his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. His namesake, great-grandfather Charles Keating, served in World War I, and his grandfather, Charles Keating Jr., was a Navy pilot in World War II. His father, Charles H. Keating III, was an award-winning athlete, who finished fifth in the breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
According to an article in The Daily Beast, “Charlie” liked to run. At age seven, he joined his mother in a 5K race and finished it. At the age of eight, he had a picture on his wall of a Navy SEAL instead of any fictional super hero. He kept an interest in running and in the SEALs his entire life:
The youngest Charles Keating continued on into high school and excelled at track and field just as his mother had. He became the top runner at Arcadia High School team as well as the team’s top cheerleader and most rousing spirit, no sooner crossing the finish line than rooting for the others.
The coach would remember that the team had practice on September 11, 2001. The coach noted that the news of the attacks roused bigger concerns in the boys than races and personal bests.
“It kind of unfolded as time went by, but they really wanted to do something, they wanted to help out,” the coach Robert Reniewicki, later told a reporter.
Charles Keating IV went on to the University of Indiana on a scholarship, and was a star long distance runner. After two years, he left school to join the Navy. Keating enlisted in February 2007 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in June 2008. After that, he was assigned to various West Coast based SEAL teams and Naval Special Warfare training commands.
Keating was deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. He then served as the leading petty officer of the West Coast sniper/reconnaissance training cell. Upon completion of his tour as an instructor, Keating went back into a West Coast-based SEAL team as a platoon-leading petty officer in February 2015.
Charles Keating IV and his fiancée, Brooke Clark had been planning a November wedding and had sent out invitations. However, upon hearing that Charles was to be deployed again, they were secretly married. In February, after the ceremony, Keating went overseas to join a quick reaction force (QRF) working in Iraq.
A US advise-and-assist team, which had fewer than a dozen US troops, was in the town of Tel Askuf when a force of more than 120 insurgents pushed into the area. The invading force had several commercial vehicles, including a bulldozer, which had been converted to carry troops. Tel Askuf was only about two miles away from the front lines between Peshmerga and the insurgent forces.
Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV was part of the QRF that responded to the request to help from the small group of US and some Peshmerga troops during the invasion. All the US advisers made it back alive. Although there were reports that some of the Peshmerga troops were injured, Keating was the only one named as a casualty of the engagement. The medevac helicopter that picked Keating up was damaged in the firefight, but managed to take the SEAL to a medical facility in Erbil. Despite their best efforts, Charlie was too seriously wounded to survive.
The 31-year-old had given his life, far from his home, while racing to the rescue. He is credited with having saved numerous SEALs and Kurdish fighters. Video of the battle shows him and his quick reaction team running straight into the dangerous firefight.
Friday, the flag-covered transfer case containing the remains of Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Keating IV was carried respectfully through the mist from a C-17 transport onto tarmac at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Awards and decorations earned by Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Keating include the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V", Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Medal and Rifle and Pistol Expert ribbons.
He is survived by his wife, his parents and a brother who is also a SEAL.
Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags in the state of Arizona to be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday in Keating’s honor. The death of Special Warfare Operator Charlie Keating IV is only the third U.S. combat casualty since the U.S. redeployed forces to Iraq, in the summer of 2014, to advise local forces and conduct special operations in the region.
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About the IGTNT series:
”I Got the News Today” is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remember the fallen, and to remind us that each casualty has family and friends who received the terrible news that their loved one has died. US service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diarized two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner. Click the IGTNT tag below to see previous diaries in the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is maintained by i dunno, Sandy on Signal, Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Jax Dem, The Fat Lady Sings, Ekaterin, & Joy of Fishes. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but show our community’s respect for those who have died.
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