KENNETH'S MILITARY CAREER BEGAN IN FEBRUARY 1954 WHEN HE ENTERED THE NAVAL AVIATION CADET PROGRAM IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA. HE COMPLETED FLIGHT SCHOOL IN JUNE 1955 IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS. HIS FIRST ASSIGNMENT WAS TO VMA-333 IN MIAMI.FLORIDA WHERE HE FLEW A-l SKYRAIDERS. IN 1957, HE RECEIVED ORDERS TO THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL IN MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA TO STUDY
METEOROLOGY. HE SERVED TWO TOURS AS A METEOROLOGIST; ONE AT THE USMC AIR STATION, IWAKUNI, JAPAN AND ONE AT THE USMC AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA. HIS NEXT SQUADRON DUTY WAS WITH VMA-533 IN 1960-1963 AT CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA FLYING THE A-4 SKYHAWK. IN 1963, HE WAS SELECTED TO ATTEND THE NAVAL TEST PILOT SCHOOL AT PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND. AFTER SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING TEST PILOT SCHOOL (CLASS XXXV) HE SERVED THREE YEARS AS A WEAPONS SYSTEMS TEST PILOT FLYING THE A-4, A-6, F-8, AND THE EA-6A HE ATTENDED THE USMC AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE SCHOOL IN QUANTICO, VIRGINIA. HE SERVED WITH THE 3RD MARINE DIVISION AS THE ASSISTANT DIVISION AIR LIAISON OFFICER. IN DANANG AND HUE PHU BAI DURING 1966-1967. AFTER SERVING IN VIETNAM,
HE COMPLETED A BS DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY/MATH IN1968 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI ON THE BOOTSTRAP PROGRAM. HE RECEIVED ORDERS TO THE NAVAL MISSILE TEST CENTER , POINT MUGU, CALIFORNIA WHERE HE WAS PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR AIR-TO-SURFACE WEAPONS; FLIGHT TESTING WEAPON SYSTEMS FOR THE A-4, A-6, AND THE A-7 AIRCRAFT. FROM 1971-1972, HE WAS COMMANDING OFFICER OF H&MS 12, IN IWAKUNI, JAPAN. HIS FINAL SET OF ORDERS WAS TO THE NATO DEFENSE COLLEGE IN ROME, ITALY. AFTER COMPLETION OF THE COURSE.HE WAS ASSIGNED TO ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, SOUTHERN EUROPE IN NAPLES, ITALY WHERE HE WAS IN
CHARGE OF NAVAL AND POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS, AND SERVED UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT IN 1974 AFTER RETIRING FROM THE MILITARY, HE ENTERED THE FIELD OF EDUCATION.