Charles Keating IV

Charles Humphrey Keating IV (February 26, 1985 – May 3, 2016) was a United States Navy SEAL sniper who was killed in action against ISIS forces north of Mosul, Iraq, in 2016. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, which was later upgraded to the Navy Cross. Keating was the third U.S. military servicemember to be killed in action in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve.

Keating—whose father and grandfather were convicted for their actions in the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s—competed in track and field during high school and college but left a promising career to become a Navy SEAL; he was one of the best runners in his BUD/S class. He later trained to be a sniper and deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.

Keating was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for saving an Arabic interpreter in combat and the U.S. military's second-highest award for combat valor, the Navy Cross, for his actions in combat against more than 100 ISIS fighters; he exposed himself to enemy fire multiple times and led partner forces to repel an attack. He continued to train partner forces in the region until he was killed in combat during a separate engagement two months later. After his death, his family helped start the C4 Foundation, which helps Navy SEALs and their families recover from stress.

Early life Keating was born on February 26, 1985, in Phoenix, Arizona, and was one of six children of Charles Keating III. Despite a long family history of competitive swimming, he chose to run track and became captain of the track team his last two years at Arcadia High School. During his last three years at Arcadia High, Keating was the champion in the 1,600-meter run and also earned city and state honors as a senior.

Keating is the grandson of banker Charles Keating Jr., whose Lincoln Savings and Loan Association failed and cost the U.S. government $3 billion during the savings and loan crisis. The Keating Five scandal took place when five U.S. senators were accused of improperly interfering on Keating Jr.'s behalf; Keating Jr. was later convicted of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy, for which he spent four and half years in prison. Keating III was convicted as a co-conspirator with the elder Keating on fraud and conspiracy charges but remained free on bail and ultimately had charges dropped. Other students at school made fun of Charles Keating IV for his family's past, but he stated that he did not care about the scandal.

He graduated from Arcadia High in 2004 and went on to major in business at Indiana University Bloomington, where his father and uncle had also attended, on a track scholarship. Navy SEAL astronaut William Shepherd also graduated from Arcadia High and was assigned to SEAL Team 1, to which Keating would later be assigned. While at Indiana, he won one of the indoor open mile events with a time of 4:16.

Military career In addition to having a family history in competitive sports, Keating also had some military service family history. His great-grandfather had served during World War I, his grandfather was a naval aviator during World War II, his great-uncle served in the Navy during World War II, and his younger brother Billy also became an enlisted SEAL. Keating followed in his grandfather's and his great uncle's footsteps by enlisting in the Navy in February 2007 and graduated Basic Underwater Demolition-SEAL training with class 266 in June 2008. He was one of only 14 graduates out of a total of 300 candidates that started his BUD/S class. and was assigned to SEAL Team 3, where he trained to be a lead breacher and sniper. While there, Keating became good friends with fellow SEAL Eli Crane. Crane was later selected to be one of three SEALs that would notify Keating's family in case of his death. During one deployment, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for saving an Arabic interpreter in combat.

Death

On May 3, 2016, Keating was part of a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) that was on standby to help Kurdish Peshmerga forces and a small U.S. advise-and-assist SEAL team if they came under attack. Around 9:32 a.m., he was hit by direct enemy fire. His SEAL teammates got him off the roof and he was evacuated to a hospital in Erbil within the hour, but his wound was fatal. No other U.S. or coalition forces were wounded; however, both aeromedical evacuation helicopters were hit by enemy small arms fire. Early reports claimed that Keating was hit by enemy sniper fire, but this has not been confirmed.

The battle continued long after U.S. forces were extracted; eventually, air assets arrived. Coalition air forces attacked with F-15s, F-16s, B-52s, A-10s and two drones. There were 31 air strikes by manned aircraft and two by drone. Coalition air forces destroyed about 20 vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortars, and one bulldozer and eliminated 58 ISIS fighters. The battle lasted about 14 hours, ending around 9:30 p.m.; after, the Peshmerga regained control of Tesqopa. The battle was the heaviest fighting between coalition forces and ISIS since around December of the year before, and there were an unknown number of Peshmerga casualties.

Keating was the third U.S. military servicemember to be killed in action in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve.

Navy Cross On May 10, Keating was posthumously awarded the Silver Star—later upgraded to a Navy Cross—by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. He was also awarded a Purple Heart for his death on May 3.

Reaction The governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, said in a statement regarding Keating, "Our state and nation are in mourning today over the loss of a U.S. serviceman — and one of America's finest." Ducey also ordered all flags in Arizona to be flown at half-staff on May 4. John McCain, Meghan McCain and Navy Lt. Jack McCain all gave the Keating family their sympathy. John McCain had known the Keating family for many years and made a statement on Keating's death: "Like so many brave Americans who came before him, Charlie sacrificed his life in honorable service to our nation for a cause greater than self-interest, which we can never truly repay." Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged Keating's actions and called him a hero.

Funeral and remembrance A memorial for Keating at Tidelands Park in Coronado, California. Some of his combat gear is shown including his FN SCAR 17 and MK-18 rifles. alt=Refer to captionKeating's remains were flown to Dover Air Force Base, and his family was present for a private transfer-of-remains ceremony before his remains were sent to San Diego for his funeral. On May 12, 2016, over 1,000 people came to Keating's public memorial ceremony at Tidelands Park in Coronado, California. The city invited the public to line the streets during the funeral procession which went through Coronado the next day and ended at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery where Keating was buried. A Mass was also held for Keating by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

On January 13, 2017, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus awarded 8 Silver Stars and 8 Navy Crosses to current, former and deceased members of Naval Special Warfare during a medal upgrade ceremony at Virginia Beach, Virginia. Keating's Silver Star was upgraded to the Navy Cross and was presented to his family. The medal upgrades were a result of a branchwide review of over 300 valor medals awarded for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The C4 Foundation was founded in 2019 and is named after Keating. The foundation owns and operates a ranch located east of San Diego in the Mesa Grande area. The foundation and ranch are dedicated to helping SEALs recover from their high stress jobs. Charles Keating III currently serves as the foundation's president and Brooke Clark (Keating's widow) is formerly the vice president. Navy SEAL Medal of Honor recipients Edward Byers and Britt K. Slabinski serve on the board of directors and the advisory board respectively. Scott P. Moore and Keating's brother William are also on the advisory board. Professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen serves on the scientific advisory board. In a series of social media posts on Memorial Day 2019, former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw honored several fallen special operations members including Keating. thumb

Awards and decorations Chief Petty Officer Keating received the following awards:

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