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Kenneth W. Plant

Strannahan SHS, Western State College, UNC Charlotte, UNC Chapel Hill, Metro State Denver, Metro State St. Paul, Defense Information School

USMC Correspondent 1969-1974 (Staff Non-commissioned Officer)

US Army Public Affairs and Safety Officer1983 - 2016 (DAC)

More than 30 DOD, USMC, USA awards/medals for photography & coverage of military operations and supervision of public affairs staffs.

USMC Correspondent 1969-1974 (Staff Non-commissioned officer)

US Army Public Affairs and Safety Officer1983 - 2016 (DAC)

Narrative

Ken Plant concludes more than thirty six years of Federal service on May 2, 2016. He entered military service in November 1969 as an honor graduate of Marine Corps Basic Training, and was assigned as a photojournalist to cover Force Troops operations for the Fleet Marine Force Atlantic. Following two meritorious promotions, and when the military became an all-volunteer force, he was assigned as the Marketing and Public Affairs Staff Non-commissioned Officer for Marine Recruiting in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In 1973 he was deployed to WESTPAC as a Marine Corps Combat Correspondent. He served with Force Reconnaissance units throughout the Southeast Asia until July 1974. His service continued in support of veterans as Editor of the Retired Times, and played a key role in founding the Colorado Young Marines and volunteered as the first state director. Hearing that the Army "needed a few good men," he joined the ranks of U.S. Army public affairs practitioners in 1983 to provide advertising, marketing and outreach program support for recruiting in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. His articles, photographs and artwork has been published internationally and his military and DOD achievements have earned him numerous national, DOD, and Dept. of Army journalistic, photographic, creative, and supervisory awards. On the final Dept. of Army Public Affairs Career Panel held annually in Washington, D.C. his knowledge, skills and abilities in communications were the highest ever achieved in his field. His support to the U.S. Army and Army Reserve earned him a Jacob Jennings Brown Award for audiovisual production, first recipient of the Patrick King Award for best managed advertising and public affairs programs, and four Dept. of Army awards including two Achievement Medals, the Civilian Service Medal, and the Superior Service Medal, along with 30 performance awards. A lifetime member of the USMC Combat Correspondents Association, American Legion, Army Reserve Association and DAV, his most recent volunteered contributions to the community includes in-school military history presentations and sharing his military experiences on educational television and on stage with fellow veterans through the Telling Project https://thetellingproject.org