O’Keefe, retiring from Guard after 40 years, will ‘lead by example’ in civilian role
— U.S. Army National Guard photo by Ryan Campbell
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jacqueline O’Keefe, right, the outgoing top warrant officer in the New York Army National Guard, receives state and federal awards from the office of the adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Raymond Shields, during a ceremony at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham on Dec. 19.
BERNE — Jacqueline “Jackie” O’Keefe, who lives in Berne, retired from the New York Army National Guard after 40 years of military service during a Dec. 19 ceremony.
She will take on the civilian position of sexual assault prevention and response director.
“Jackie is the right person for this critical position,” Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, said in a release from the Guard. “Her decades of military service have given her the skills to help people when they need it the most.”
In her remarks, O’Keefe said she was looking forward to continuing to serve the New York National Guard in her new civilian role.
She urged those military leaders present to continue to make taking care of their soldiers a priority.
“To me the most profound lessons are, lead by example, do my duty, and to always take care of people,” O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe, who was a Chief Warrant Officer 5, had been serving as the Chief Command Warrant Officer of the New York Army Guard.
Warrant Officers are technical experts — pilots, intelligence analysts, personnel professionals, and medical professionals, for example — who fall between sergeants and commissioned officers in the Army’s command structure. There are 247 warrant officers in the New York Army National Guard.
The Command Chief Warrant Officer is responsible to the commander on issues involving warrant officer recruitment and training.
O’Keefe is a graduate of the Warrant Officer Senior Service Education Course, the Warrant Officer Intermediate Level Education Course, and the Adjutant General Warrant Officer Basic and Advanced Courses.
She holds a master’s degree in management from Excelsior University.
Her awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Medal, and National Guard Recruiter Badge.
She lives in Berne with her husband Brian, a retired lieutenant colonel.
She has three sons: retired Sergeant Major Brian O’Keefe Jr., who served in the Army’s Special Operations Command; Captain Bradley O’Keefe, who recently completed his tour in the Army and will be serving in the reserves; and Brenden O’Keefe, who was a former member of the New York Army National Guard.
She also has a daughter, Brooke, who is completing her senior year at Siena College.
— Melissa Hale-Spencer
