Before entering politics, he served in the Vietnam War, as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat.

[5] In 2012, Kerrey sought election to his old Senate seat to succeed his successor, the retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Nelson.

[7] Kerrey is a co-chair for the advisory board of Issue One, an organization that describes its mission as "fighting for real solutions to the problem of money in politics".

He then received assignment to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and subsequently completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training with class 42 in December 1967.

[citation needed] Kerrey was seriously wounded and lost the lower part of his right leg in combat on Hon Tre island near Nha Trang Bay on March 14, 1969.

While suffering shrapnel wounds and blood loss, Kerrey organized his squad in a counterattack that killed or captured enemy Viet Cong.

Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey led his SEAL Team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy's area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang.

Splitting his team in two elements and coordinating both, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp.

Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade which exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks.

Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp.

After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site.

Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition, sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.In 2001, The New York Times Magazine and 60 Minutes II carried reports on an incident that occurred during Kerrey's Vietnam War service.

On February 25, 1969, he led a Swift Boat raid on the isolated peasant village of Thanh Phong, Vietnam, targeting a Viet Cong leader who intelligence suggested would be present.

She says seven men entered their hut of sixteen civilians, including five of her relatives, and killed the occupants with gunfire and an explosive device.

"[23] He was awarded a Bronze Star for the raid on Thanh Phong, after his unit had falsely reported all the dead civilians as enemy guerrillas.

[17][24] The citation for the medal reads, "The net result of his patrol was 21 Viet Cong killed, two hooches [huts] destroyed and two enemy weapons captured.

[26] After he ceded active management to his brother in law in 1983, the businesses grew to include 10 restaurants, three fitness centers, a bowling alley, and other enterprises.

[27] In 1982, Kerrey ran for Governor of Nebraska; he easily won the Democratic nomination 71 percent to 29 over state senator George "Bill" Burrows, then achieved a narrow victory over incumbent Republican Charles Thone, 51% to 49%.

[citation needed] Kerrey criticized the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture as "unfair" and "partisan".

Kerrey was on Clinton's "short list" of vice presidential candidates, but Tennessee Senator Al Gore received the nod instead.

[42] Early in the morning of April 10, 2009, 19 students took over the 65 5th Avenue building, erecting an anarchist flag and demanding once again that Kerrey resign.

[citation needed] In December 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that in 2010, the year of his anticipated departure, his salary was more than $600,000, and his total take-home pay, including bonuses, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits, was $3,047,703, making Kerrey the highest-paid private college president in the United States.

This announcement unleashed a heated controversy, in view of Kerrey's role as the person in charge of the Thanh Phong village massacre in 1969.

[44] Outspoken Vietnamese critics of the appointment of Kerrey included Tôn Nữ Thị Ninh, a former ambassador to the European Union, who exclaimed: “the decision to appoint Bob Kerrey to be chairman of the board of the first American-style university in Vietnam strikes me as insensitive to the Vietnamese at best, and taking us for granted at worst.”[45] and the award-winning Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen.

[46] On the other hand, Kerrey's appointment was endorsed by Đinh La Thăng,[47] who at that time was Communist Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City and a member of the Politburo, but in January 2018 was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 13 years in prison on corruption charges.

[48] A critic Bao Anh Thai, a lawyer in Ho Chi Minh City, said that leading a university was not the proper place for a man with Kerrey’s war record.

“After killing and lying, he should not represent knowledge and contributing the values of America in Vietnam!”[49] In May 2018, H. Kim Bottomly, former president of Wellesley College, was appointed to succeed Kerrey.

[54] On February 27, 2012, The Washington Post reported that Kerrey had earlier decided against a run, but that an aide had confirmed that he was now filing to seek election to his old Senate seat.

When confronted with intense questioning by the press over the nature of the relationship, Kerrey famously replied; "What can I say – she swept me off my foot", alluding to the fact that the lower part of one of his legs was amputated because of injuries sustained in his Medal of Honor action in Vietnam.

[citation needed] A 2012 The New York Times op-ed by columnist Frank Bruni states that Kerrey describes himself as an agnostic.