Keni Thomas

Keni Thomas
Keni Thomas in 2006
Background information
Origin	Gainesville, Florida, United States
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Moraine
Associated acts	Blackhawk Vince Gill Emmylou Harris

Keni Thomas
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1991 - 1997
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Battles/wars	Battle of Mogadishu (1993)

Keni Thomas is an American country music singer and former United States Army Ranger. Thomas was a member of Task Force Ranger as a part of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and served in the Battle of Mogadishu. Thomas works as a motivational speaker drawing from this experience as a US 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).

Thomas enlisted in the Army in 1991. Prior to joining the Army he graduated from the University of Florida. He served as a Ranger in the 75th Ranger Regiment, eventually attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Thomas was a member of Task Force Ranger as a part of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. A main objective of the Task Force was to capture the elusive Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. 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, 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, now a pastor, to film a short retracing their steps in the Battle of Mogadishu. He also served as a consultant for We Were Soldiers.