Rodney J. McKinley (born January 17, 1956) is a retired airman of the United States Air Force who served as the 15th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from 2006 to 2009.

Military career

McKinley grew up in

Mt. Orab, Ohio Mount Orab is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,664 at the 2010 census. History Mount Orab was laid out in 1850. The village's name most likely is derived from Mount Horeb, a place in the Hebrew Bible. The Cin ...

, graduating from Western Brown High School in 1974. He originally entered the United States Air Force in 1974, took a break in service in 1977 to attend college, and re-entered the Air Force in 1982. His background includes various duties in medical and aircraft maintenance, and as a first sergeant and Command Chief Master Sergeant at wing,

numbered air force A Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squ ...

and

major command Major Command or Major Commands are large formations of the United States Armed Forces. Historically, a Major Command is the highest level of command. Within the United States Army, the acronym MACOM is used for Major Command. Within the United St ...

levels. His assignments include bases in North Carolina, South Carolina,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, Virginia, Alaska, and Hawaii. He also served overseas in the Philippines, Italy and Germany, and deployed to Southwest Asia in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. McKinley served as Command Chief Master Sergeant of the Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. He was appointed to the position of Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force on June 30, 2006. In this post, McKinley represented the highest enlisted level of leadership and, as such, provided direction for the enlisted corps and represents their interests, as appropriate, to the American public, and to those in all levels of government. He served as the personal adviser to the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

and the secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization and progress of the enlisted force.

Post-military career

McKinley retired from the United States Air Force in June 2009, having served for over 30 years. From then to November 2012, he was senior vice president for

strategic partnership A strategic partnership (also see strategic alliance) is a relationship between two commercial enterprises, usually formalized by one or more business contracts. A strategic partnership will usually fall short of a legal partnership entity, agency, ...

s at MicroTech, a privately held information technology services company. Since January 2017, he has served on the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigations, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the US Department of Defense.

Education

Assignments

#July 1974 – August 1974, student, basic military training, Lackland AFB, Texas #August 1974 – November 1974, medical service specialist technical training, Sheppard AFB, Texas #November 1974 – August 1977, emergency room technician, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC #August 1977 – April 1982, separated from the Air Force #April 1982 – June 1982, aircraft maintenance technology technical training, Sheppard AFB, Texas #June 1982 – June 1987, phase dock inspector, maintenance instructor, quality assurance inspector, noncommissioned officer in charge of aircraft weight and balance and functional check flights, 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, Myrtle Beach AFB, SC #June 1987 – June 1991, dedicated crew chief, quality assurance inspector, noncommissioned officer in charge aircraft weight and balance and functional check flights, chief inspector of quality assurance, 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Clark Air Base, Philippines #June 1991 – June 1992, First Sergeant, 354th Communications and Services squadrons, Myrtle Beach AFB, SC #June 1992 – January 1994, First Sergeant, 401st Munitions Support Squadron, Ghedi AB, Italy #January 1994 – July 2000, First Sergeant, 3rd Combat Communications Support Squadron, 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron, 552nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron, and 552nd Aircraft Generation Squadron,

Tinker AFB Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, originally ...

, OK #July 2000 – July 2001, First Sergeant, 723rd Air Mobility Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany #August 2001 – September 2002, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein AB, Germany #September 2002 – June 2004, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 1st Fighter Wing, Langley AFB, VA (February 2003 – June 2003, Command Chief Master Sergeant,

379th Air Expeditionary Wing The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time. The Wing is one of the largest, most diverse expeditionary win ...

, Southwest Asia) #June 2004 – March 2005, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 11th Air Force, Elmendorf AFB, AK #March 2005 – June 2006, Command Chief Master Sergeant, Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, HI #June 2006 – June 2009, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Awards and decorations

Other achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinley, Rodney J. Living people People from Georgetown, Ohio Community College of the Air Force alumni Saint Leo University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Chief Master Sergeants of the United States Air Force 1956 births Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)