Gene C. McKinney

Infobox Military Person
name=Gene McKinney
born= Birth date and age|1950|11|3
died=
placeofbirth= Monticello, Florida
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=SMA Gene McKinney
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=1968-1997
rank= Sergeant Major of the Army
commands=
unit=
battles= Vietnam War
awards=Legion of Merit Bronze Star
relations=
laterwork=

Gene McKinney was the 10th Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) of the United States, serving from July 1995 to October 1997. He was the first African-American to reach that rank.

In the fall of 1996, allegations of sexual misconduct by training cadre at Aberdeen Proving Ground and several other Army bases surfaced, and the Army instituted a substantial investigation with a toll-free telephone hotline that received nearly 4,500 calls within a matter of weeks. The task force established by Secretary of the Army Togo D. West, Jr., to advise him about the situation included SMA McKinney as the spokesman of the Army enlisted soldiers. In February 1997, McKinney himself found himself accused by a female former subordinate of improper advances. The Army suspended him of his SMA duties in February 1997 while the charges were investigated; in May-October of that year, two Command Sergeants Major — one McKinney's twin brother, James C. McKinney; the other, CSM Jerry T. Alley — took over his duties in rotation. While suspended from his duties as SMA, five additional female soldiers accused him of similar improprieties. In November 1997, the Article 32 investigating panel (U.S. military counterpart to a grand jury) completed its investigation and recommended charges for a court-martial. McKinney was, thereupon, permanently reassigned out of his SMA billet and laterally redesignated back to the rank of Command Sergeant Major; his successor, SMA Robert E. Hall, was promptly installed.

Command Sergeant Major (then-formerly SMA) McKinney was acquitted of all sexual harassment charges, but was convicted of obstruction of justice, and received a reduction in grade to Master Sergeant (E-8) and a reprimand. However, upon retirement from active duty, he retired at his former grade of SMA in accordance with 10 USC § 1406(i)(1) which dictated that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, commanders of unified combatant commands, and the senior enlisted member of each service (SMA, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) retire at no less than the rank held in that position. That law was subesquently amended by 10 USC § 1406(i)(2)(A) to prevent a re-occurrence.

Gene C. McKinney was born in Monticello, Florida on November 3, 1950. He is one of five brothers, all of whom served in the Army. One served as an officer; one retired as a master sergeant; another served in Vietnam; and an identical twin, the aforementioned Command Sergeant Major James C. McKinney.

He enlisted in the United States Army in August 1968, and completed Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as an armored cavalryman at Fort Knox, Kentucky. From 1969-1970, he saw combat in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In more than 28 years, he served in all Noncommissioned Officer leadership positions. He was Command Sergeant Major of the United States Army Europe; 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Bad Kreuznach, Germany; 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division in Vilseck, Germany; 612th Quartermaster at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 1st Battalion, 58th Mechanized Infantry, 197th Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia; 3rd Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment in Büdingen, Germany; 3rd and 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas; and 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bamberg, Germany. He is a graduate of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Class 31.

Awards and decorations

McKinney's awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.

External links

* [http://www.cnn.com/US/9803/16/mckinney.sentence./ CNN Story on McKinney's acquittal]
* [http://www.army.mil/soldiers/jun97/news/acting.html Army Names Acting Sergeant Major]
* [http://www.army.mil/leaders/leaders/sma/former/mckinney.html U.S. Army site listing SMA McKinney's medals]