Keith Brackenbury joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1977, graduating from No. 53 Navigator course in July 1978. During his next 6 years on P3B and P3C aircraft with 11 SQN and 10 SQN at RAAF Base Edinburgh, he participated in over 20 operational deployments to SE Asia, Pacific and the Middle East. In 1985 he was posted to 292SQN to conduct operational test flying and instructional duties.
On promotion to Squadron Leader he was posted to Maritime HQ in Sydney, where he led a small joint exercise planning staff. Between 1991 and 1993, Keith served in Singapore as the Assistant Defence Adviser, where he was awarded a commendation for his work in Defence Cooperation. On return to Australia, he was appointed as Commanding Officer No. 27 (City of Townsville) Squadron and Regional Liaison Officer to the North Queensland Air Training Corps. During this time 27SQN was adjudged the most proficient Reserve Squadron.
Promoted off RAAF Command and Staff Course in 1996, Keith completed two postings in Canberra as Deputy Director Strategic Personnel Planning and Acting Director Personnel Research before assuming the position of Base Commander Edinburgh in December 1999. On promotion, to Group Captain, he was posted to the position of Commandant RAAF College in June 2002, followed by the appointment as Chief of Staff Headquarters Air Force Training Group from December 2004 to January 2007.
In January 2007, he took up the position of Director Peacekeeping Centre at the ADF Warfare Centre. During his time as Director Peacekeeping, GPCAPT Brackenbury developed close contacts with ASEAN countries and was instrumental in the formation of the Asia-Pacific Association of Peace Training Centres. GPCAPT Brackenbury also served on the Executive of the International Association of Peace Training Centres. Following a short stint in Air Force HQ, GPCAPT Brackenbury joined the APCMCOE as the Conflict Management Program Manager in December 2010.
GPCAPT Brackenbury is married to Linda, a South Australian, who works full-time as a Systems Analyst. He has two sons and a daughter. His main interests involve sport, either as a participant, spectator, coach or administrator.