A native of Rhode Island, Capt. Ken "Lurch" Froberg graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering. He earned his Naval Aviator "Wings of Gold" and completed initial E-2C Hawkeye flight training in 2001.
Froberg spent his early naval career operating with carrier forces around the world. He served with the Liberty Bells of VAW-115 forward deployed from Yokosuka, Japan, aboard USS Kitty Hawk, the Hawkeye Weapons & Tactics Unit, Atlantic while also instructing with the Greyhawks of VAW-120 in all variants of the E-2C Hawkeye and Hawkeye 2000, the Seahawks of VAW-126 aboard USS Harry S. Truman, and the Black Eagles of VAW-113 aboard USS Ronald Reagan.
In 2011, he reported to U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, as a Chief of Operations watchstander in the J3 Global Operations Center, and later as executive officer to the Chief of Staff. He worked extensively to train teams in strategic and operational ballistic missile detection and defense, countering weapons of mass destruction, nuclear deterrence, space systems, and cyberwarfare.
In 2014, he reported to the College of Naval Warfare, U.S. Naval War College for the "Senior Course" where he specialized in leadership and ethics before reporting as executive officer to Training Squadron Ten in 2015 flying the T-6A Texan II aircraft. He assumed command of the Wildcats in December 2016. In 2016 and 2017, the Wildcats earned the CNO Safety “S” Award, Grampaw Pettibone Award for Organizational Writing, and the coveted 2016 Naval Air Training Command’s Training Excellence Award. The Wildcats went on to earn the 2017 Secretary of the Navy Safety Excellence Award for innovation.
In 2018, following refresher flight training in the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, he returned to USS Harry S. Truman as the Air Department Head “Air Boss” leading over 600 Sailors in the first Arctic CVN flight operations in nearly 30 years under the Dynamic Force Employment strategy. He deployed again from 2019-2020 to the Second, Fifth, and Sixth Fleet areas of responsibility during heightened tensions with Iran and the COVID-19 outbreak. During his tour aboard Truman, he earned two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Commander Naval Air Forces Atlantic Battle “E” Award for 2018 and 2020, and back-to-back Yellow “E” Awards for Air Department operational excellence.
In 2020, he and his family reported to London, England, for assignment as the U.S. Navy liaison to the Royal Navy, responsible for shepherding the Delivering Combined Seapower bilateral strategic charter across carrier strike, undersea warfare, littoral operations, and future warfighting interoperability efforts.
Froberg assumed command of Recruit Training Command Great Lakes July 18, 2023.
Froberg's decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Strike Flight device, Naval Commendation Medal with Combat "V", Naval Achievement Medal, and numerous unit awards. A two-time recipient of the Hawkeye Pilot of the Year Award for 2004 and 2006, and 2011 CVW-14 Top Hook, he has accumulated over 3,700 career flight hours in the T-6A Texan II, E-2C/D Hawkeye, T-2C, T-44A, and T-34C, and logged over 360 carrier arrestments across six ships.
He holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, graduate certificates in space systems, artificial intelligence, and defense energy from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, and an Executive Diploma in Artificial Intelligence for Business from the University of Oxford.