Saint Xavier University’s Student Veterans Alliance joined forces with the McCarthy Brigade Tuesday to honor nursing professor Karen L. O’Brien, Ph.D., RN, Director of Undergraduate Nursing at SXU, for her distinguished military service during a Veterans Day event in the Butler Reception Room.
O’Brien, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Nurse Corps and a resident of Orland Park, shared personal stories from her military career and reflected on the significance of Veterans Day. The McCarthy Brigade, a Beverly-based organization of current and former military, law enforcement, and fire service members, presented her with a combat flag in recognition of her service.
“I am truly honored and blessed to be recognized by Saint Xavier and my veteran brothers and sisters, as well as the first responder community,” O’Brien said. “This community has supported me through so much of my military and academic journey.”
O’Brien traced her military path back to a two-year ROTC scholarship at Loyola University. She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in August 1985 and began active duty at Fort Carson, Colorado, as a staff nurse at Evans Army Hospital. She later transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where she worked at the 28th Combat Support Hospital and Womack Army Hospital.
“After four years, I left active duty and returned to Illinois,” O’Brien said. “Several years went by, and I missed the person I had become in the military, so I decided to engage in the Army Reserve.”
She joined the 801st Combat Support Hospital at Fort Sheridan, taking on a variety of roles, including ICU staff nurse, Unit Movement Officer, and Battalion S-3.
As a major, she deployed overseas with the 801st to Kuwait in support of the 47th Combat Support Hospital. A year into the deployment, her unit split, and she went to Baghdad, supporting the 31st CSH at Ibn Sina Hospital, caring for U.S. military personnel, local nationals, and detainees.
“After seven weeks, we returned to Kuwait for out-processing, then Fort Dix, New Jersey, and finally Fort Stewart, Georgia, for demobilization,” O’Brien said. She remained active in the Army Reserve for approximately 10 more years and concluded her career with the 7302nd Medical Training Support Battalion in Madison, Wisconsin, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
The Student Veterans Alliance chose O’Brien for her decades of service in both the military and nursing leadership. Her career spans active duty, reserve, and deployed roles, as well as over two decades of teaching at SXU.
“It means so much to our student veterans to have faculty members on campus who are also veterans,” said Matthew Maltese, Veterans and Athletics Compliance Advisor. “Having faculty members who can relate to our student veterans in a way that only veterans can is a true luxury that cannot be replaced.”
O’Brien earned a Master of Science in Nursing from SXU and served on the university’s faculty from 1999 to 2017, rising from adjunct faculty and clinical instructor to tenured associate professor. She returned in 2023 and now serves as Director of Undergraduate Nursing.
Her military awards include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, and the Expert Field Medical Badge.
“As president of SVA and a proud U.S. veteran, I am honored to help lead this year’s Veterans Day event at Saint Xavier University,” said SVA President Karely Padilla. “This day is about recognizing the courage, dedication, and sacrifices of those who have served our country, and we are so proud of Dr. O’Brien. It’s also a reminder of the strength and unity within our veteran community here on campus.”
Amazing and still looks beautiful!