LEXINGTON — A four-star general who grew up in Kentucky is contemplating a run for governor in 2003.

        “I'm giving it serious consideration,” Gen. John G. Coburn, 60, told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “I believe the people of Kentucky deserve the chance to be all they can be.”

        Gen. Coburn, who retires Oct. 30 as head of the U.S. Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, Va., oversees 49,000 employees and a $19 billion budget. He supervises the nation's chemical weapons stockpiles, handles multibillion-dollar arms sales to America's allies, and makes sure American soldiers don't run out of Humvees, hand grenades, guns and grub.

        The general said he can't disclose his party affiliation until he returns to civilian life. But U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher, R-Ky., who calls Gen. Coburn “a good friend,” predicted the gener al would run as a Republican.

        Born a few miles from War, W. Va., Gen. Coburn lived as a youngster in Knott and Floyd counties, where his father mined coal. From 1987 to 1989, he was stationed in Lexington at an Army depot. Today, he owns a farm in Montgomery County and his three grown sons live in Kentucky.

        During a four decades-long military career, Gen. Coburn has served in Vietnam, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and Germany.

        Upon his return to civilian life, Gen. Coburn said, he will work briefly in the private sector before making up his mind on a gubernatorial run.

        Gov. Paul Patton, a Democrat, will end his second term in December 2003 and cannot succeed himself.

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