Retired Brig. Gen. Keith Klemmer has been named chairman of the Beck Center for Veterans board of directors at Arkansas State University.
Klemmer replaces retired Maj. Gen. George Barker, who served as chairman for 11 years.
The Beck Center provides combat-wounded veterans with educational programs and services at ASU. These include counseling, rehabilitation and financial assistance.
Klemmer, 56, is originally from Brookland, outside Jonesboro. He received a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from ASU in 1987 and a master's degree in strategic studies from the Army War College in 2007. He is also a graduate of Harvard University's homeland security program. Klemmer was commissioned a second lieutenant through the ROTC program in 1985.
He has served in a variety of positions in the 39th Infantry Brigade, 142nd Fires Brigade, and 87th Troop Command. He is a veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-91 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-05.
In October 2011, Klemmer became director of the joint staff, Arkansas National Guard. In December 2012, he was selected as the deputy adjutant general for Arkansas. He was federally recognized as a brigadier general on April 1, 2013. In May 2015, he was selected as the deputy commanding general for the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill.
In April 2017, he joined BAE Systems, a global British-based multinational arms, security, and aerospace firm, after more than 32 years in the Army National Guard as a field artillery officer, retiring at the rank of brigadier general. He lives with his family in Arlington, Va., outside Washington.