In the summer of 1993, then-Sergeant Keni Thomas was deployed to Mogadishu Somalia with the 3rd Ranger Battalion as part of an elite special operations package called Task Force Ranger. Their mission was to find and capture a criminal warlord named Mohammed Farrah Aideed. On October 3, Keni and his fellow Rangers distinguished themselves in an eighteen hour-firefight that would later be recounted in the highly successful book and movie Blackhawk Down.

When Keni got out of the Army, he began to pursue a career in the music industry. He now is a full-time award winning country music recording artist and songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. He and his band Cornbread were featured in the movie Sweet Home Alabama.

He is a regular guest on all the major news networks as a military analyst and was also a military advisor for the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers. He has been recognized by the President of the United States, by Congress and has been awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and the American Patriot Award. He is also the national spokesperson for the Hero Fund and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provide college educations to the children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training. Mr. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Florida.