Upon enlisting in the WAVES in 1942, Keating trained as a
radio operator and was posted to
Hawaii, where she monitored radio signals and typed out code translations. She sometimes worked out of an underground station located in a pineapple field. Back in Colorado after the war, she served in the
United States Naval Reserve. In 1948 she re-enlisted in the navy to pursue a military career, and in 1950 became the first woman commissioned to the
Navy Medical Service Corps. anchored in
Inchon Harbor, 1954 During the Korean War, Keating served on the
USS Haven, a hospital ship which evacuated wounded American soldiers from Korea to US military hospitals in Japan. In addition to her pharmacist duties, Keating performed guard duty,
cryptography, and officer training. In 1953, she served as an official "disinterested witness" for a
prisoner of war exchange that took place aboard the ship under the auspices of the
United Nations. In 1954, the ship evacuated wounded
French Foreign Legion paratroopers after the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu. During the Vietnam War, Keating was assigned to U.S. naval hospitals in Japan. Keating went on to serve as Chief of Pharmacy Service for six naval hospitals. She also lectured at the
Pharmacy Technician School in
San Diego, California. She achieved several milestones during her tenure in the Navy Medical Service Corps, including being the first female pharmacist in the US Navy, the first woman in the US Navy to advance in rank from seaman to captain, and the first female pharmacist to attain the rank of captain. She was also "the first woman in the Medical Service Corps to go to sea, and the first woman officer to replace a male officer at sea". She retired from active service in 1972. ==Business owner==