Бывший генерал Кеннет Маккензи стал новым президентом военной академии The Citadel

CHARLESTON — Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie Jr. is quick to point out that the successes he experienced in some of the nation’s highest military command positions can be traced back to the education he gained as a young man at The Citadel. He graduated from the Charleston military college nearly five decades ago and now has made the roundtrip back to his alma mater to take the helm as president. That comes after a storied career making priority decisions on how to execute national security missions, bolster the country’s defenses and pen a book about his career. “The Citadel has been very important to me,” he said. “This opportunity came open and I couldn’t say no to it.” McKenzie became president during a period of broader leadership change at one of the oldest military colleges in the country. In November, former president Gen. Glenn Walters opted for an early retirement. In March, The Citadel’s former provost, Sally Selden, accepted the presidential position at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia. McKenzie quickly advanced to become one of The Citadel’s top four presidential finalists. McKenzie, familiar with the campus, had a connection to Walters. The pair graduated together in 1979, though they had vastly different course loads in completely different fields. Having two back-to-back presidents from the same graduating class is a historical first for The Citadel, according to a college spokesperson. McKenzie knew Walters better as a Marine than a cadet, he said. Both rose through the ranks to become four-star generals. Walters leaves a “huge legacy” of construction, infrastructure development and financial stability, McKenzie told The Post and Courier. They’re big shoes to fill, but McKenzie said he feels well equipped, given his expansive career in the military and academia. Distinguished, high-ranking career McKenzie was born and raised in Birmingham, Ala., but he has had lifelong ties to the Lowcountry. He visited relatives in Beaufort as a boy, attended The Citadel, spent time at the Naval base and met his wife in Charleston. His time as a cadet informed him about the emotions the incoming class of 2030 is experiencing. And his military service and time at the University of South Florida has informed him about what it takes to achieve success as a leader. Before accepting the Citadel role, McKenzie was executive director of USF’s Global and National Security Institute. The collegiate-based organization provides researched solutions on modern security challenges to global leaders. He took the role in Florida not long after making key and contentious choices on how to take down terrorist leaders in other countries. McKenzie was ordered by President Donald Trump in early 2020 to eliminate top Iranian military general Qassem Soleimani. He’d been in charge of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for around a year when he was tasked to plan, organize and execute a drone strike on Soleimani and the leader’s allies in Baghdad. “Civilians make decisions and the military executes them,” McKenzie said in response to a request for broad comment on decisions made during his time in CENTCOM. “I never received an illegal order from any president I worked for,” he added. “And I’d make the same decisions again today.” As the combatant commander for CENTCOM, McKenzie said he was in a unique position of leadership in which he both provided advice and executed commands. Usually, top-ranking military positions have only one of those roles. McKenzie said he intends to utilize those skills to serve The Citadel. Before CENTCOM, McKenzie was director of the Joint Staff, a position that operates from the Pentagon and oversees the administrative and operational aspects of the U.S. military on a global scale. It had taken McKenzie decades to reach some of the highest-ranking military positions in the Armed Forces’ structure. Several of his family members served infantry roles in the military, but none rose to McKenzie’s rank, he said. He didn’t know exactly where the drive came from, but he always knew he wanted to be a Marine. “When I graduated (from The Citadel) in May of ‘79, nobody would have thought I was going to be here where I am, a four-star general,” McKenzie said. He graduated with a degree in English. Reading and writing had always been passions and the skills learned in earning the degree have served him all his life, McKenzie said. McKenzie wouldn’t have picked himself out of a lineup of cadets to be one to rise through the ranks, but that’s what he did, giving him a unique perspective on the class of cadets he’ll oversee. “Here’s the thing: There’s vast talent out there with these young men and women, and so my job is to give them an opportunity to grow,” he said. Future of The Citadel As president, McKenzie said he wants to foster a close relationship with the Corps of Cadets. He aims to ensure that their sense of honor and duty are paramount, just as those traits are to him. The college’s honor code is straightforward: A cadet does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do. The code has permeated all aspects of McKenzie’s life, and he hopes the same will happen to the young cadets, he said. Similarly, accepting and completing assigned responsibilities are key tenets for both McKenzie and any cadet enrolling at The Citadel. “I’m back here because of the word ‘duty,’ ” McKenzie said. His drive to serve the college that shaped him is his reason for returning. Since he first set foot there in the mid-1970s, the campus has changed drastically, in part thanks to Walters’ initiatives to shore up infrastructure, McKenzie said. The construction of Bastin and Capers halls, renovations of the cadet barracks, a nearly complete Krause School for Leadership and Ethics and ongoing East Side Stands and Letellier Hall Engineering Building projects all originated under Walters. McKenzie said he intends to take a look at where the college stands in the wake of these projects and assess what other infrastructure changes might be necessary. He doesn’t want to build for the sake of building, he said. Additionally, McKenzie intends to maintain course offerings and school advancement opportunities that encourage innovation. Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence are buzzing topics that cadets and professors alike are interested in — subjects McKenzie will promote in the classroom, he said. Interim Provost Kevin Bower agreed. His role is overseeing the academic affairs of cadets during the following year while the college’s Board of Visitors searches for a permanent provost. While he’s only had several weeks working with McKenzie, Bower said he thinks the future is bright under the general’s leadership. “It’s been a real pleasure working with this president,” Bower told The Post and Courier. “He’s clearly a man of integrity.” Bower has been part of The Citadel’s administration for around a decade after stepping away from classroom instruction as a civil engineering professor. He’d had a close working relationship with Walters before McKenzie arrived. The transition has been seamless, he said. “It’s clear that this is not their first leadership transition, and we’re benefiting from their wealth of experience in that,” Bower said.