Keane joins General Dynamics board

John "Jack" Keane, former Army vice chief of staff, today joined the board of directors of General Dynamics Corp. Board members of the aerospace and defense company, located in Falls Church, Va., elected him a director of the corporation, according to a statement.

Keane on Oct. 2, 2003, retired from the Army. He pushed for, and received, the installation of the blue-force tracking Force XXI Battle Command Brigade-and-Below system in 1,200 U.S. and coalition force vehicles prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last March offered him the Army chief of staff position, the service's top officer post, but he turned it down to spend time with an ailing family member.

Keane served 37 years in the Army. The holder of master's and bachelor's degrees had senior jobs in the service's XVIII Airborne Corps and military's U.S. Atlantic Command.

General Dynamics manufactures the Army's M1A1 and M1A2 System Enhancement Package main battle tanks, the Stryker infantry carrier vehicle and the Stryker mobile gun system. The company, with United Defense LP, located in Arlington, Va., will design and build the service's Future Combat System eight manned ground vehicles.