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As the Deputy Commandant for Operations (DCO) Senior Reserve Officer (SRO), Rear Admiral McKinley facilitates the operational readiness of 7,000 reservists to be prepared to respond to emergencies, domestically and abroad. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Reserve and Military Personnel. He currently serves as a member of DoD’s Reserve Forces Policy Board, an independent advisory board that recommends Reserve initiatives and Policies to the Secretary of Defense.
Previous assignments inlcude the Human Capital Strategy Implementation Lead for the Coast Guard; Contingency Operations Branch Chief at Atlantic Area providing program management for Coast Guard forces in the Arabian Gulf; Senior Reserve Officer at the Ninth Coast Guard District; Executive Assistant to the Deputy Unified Area Commander during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response; Senior U.S. Military Observer to the United Nations Mission for Stabilization operation in Haiti; Senior Reserve Officer at Sector Upper Mississippi River; Commanding Officer of Port Security Unit 309; Ninth District Command Center and as a D5 LEDET Team Leader supporting counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean and deploying on the USS FIFE for four months in the Arabian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Storm. He acted as the ship’s Conning Officer during Tomahawk missile firing combat operations. As a reserve officer, he has been mobilized in support of contingency operations five times to include Operation Southern Watch in Bahrain, Operation Iraqi Freedom in Kuwait and Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
RADM McKinley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from George Mason University. He graduated from Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in 1987. He is a 2010 graduate of Northwestern University’s Staff and Command College; a 2013 graduate of the U.S. Army War College’s Joint Senior Reserve Officer Course and a 2016 Fellow of Harvard University’s Kennedy School National Preparedness Leadership Initiative for Executives.
RADM McKinley’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit, five Meritorious Service Medals, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, one Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, one Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon and the Coast Guard’s Law Enforcement Detachment and Port Security (Officer) qualification badges.
(As of Dec 2018)