Ken Lynn was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1959. His family soon moved to upstate South Carolina where he attended Riverside High School and later received his commission as a second lieutenant after graduating from Clemson University in 1981 as an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Distinguished Graduate.
After attending the Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course at Chanute AFB, Illinois, he saw duty as an aircraft maintenance officer serving at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom; Eglin AFB, Florida and Soesterberg AB, The Netherlands.
While at Soesterberg, he earned a second Air Force Specialty Code, attending the Transportation Officer Course. As a transportation officer, he subsequently served at HQ Special Operations Command Central at MacDill AFB, Florida, and at Edwards AFB, California, where he was named Air Force Materiél Command’s Field Grade Transportation Officer of the Year in 1997.
He then did an Air University special duty assignment, joining the faculty of the Air Command and Staff College and later serving as Vice Commandant of the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
Subsequent assignments took him to Prince Sultan AB in Saudi Arabia as Deputy Logistics Group Commander, 336th Expeditionary Logistics Group; Langley AFB, Virginia, as Chief, Propulsion Branch; Fort McNair, Washington, DC, as an Industrial College of the Armed Forces student; Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, as Commander, 4th Maintenance Group and finally back to Langley AFB as Chief, Systems Support Division, HQ Air Combat Command where he retired in 2007.
Colonel (Ret.) Lynn commanded an aircraft maintenance squadron, two transportation squadrons and an aircraft maintenance group. He was involved in Operation El Dorado Canyon, the 1986 bombing raid on Libya, and deployed in Support of Operation Desert Storm in early 1991. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Southern Watch in 2001 when the September 11th attacks occurred, changing his operating location from a contingency to a wartime location.
His education includes a BA in Recreation and Park Administration in 1981 from Clemson University; Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 1983; Squadron Officer School, 1987; MS in International Relations in 1988 from Troy State University; Air Command and Staff College, 1994; Air War College, 1998; and MS in National Resource Strategy in 2004 from the National Defense University.
His military decorations include: Legion of Merit with 1 device; Bronze Star; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal with 4 devices; Air Force Commendation Medal with 3 devices; Joint Meritorious Unit Award; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 2 valor devices; Air Force Organizational Excellence Award; Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation; National Defense Service Medal with bronze star; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal with bronze star; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon Short; Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long with 1 device; Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with 5 devices; Small Arms Marksmanship Ribbon; Air Force Training Ribbon with 1 device.
After retirement, Colonel (Ret.) Lynn and his wife, Monica Madden-Lynn, relocated to Ashe County, NC, in 2007 where he’s been an adjunct online faculty member with the USAF Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He was also a founding member of the local New River Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. In 2018, he and a partner formed Lost Provinces Media Group, LLC, which published the Ashe County Line online news. Colonel (Ret.) Lynn often contributed pieces related to military and national security matters, among many other subjects.
