Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Roy Van McCarty is an officer in the

South Carolina Army National Guard The South Carolina Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the U.S. Army's available combat forces and approximat ...

who currently serves as

South Carolina Adjutant General The Adjutant General of South Carolina is head of the South Carolina Military Department, overseeing the South Carolina National Guard, the South Carolina State Guard and the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. The Adjutant General is the ...

, he was appointed to the position by Governor

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since January 24, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. McMaster worked for U.S. senator Strom Thurmond, i ...

on January 17, 2019. As the states senior military officer, he serves as commander of the South Carolina Military Department which includes the

South Carolina Air National Guard The South Carolina Air National Guard (SC ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of South Carolina, United States of America. It is, along with the South Carolina Army National Guard, an element of the South Carolina National Guard. As state ...

South Carolina State Guard The South Carolina State Guard (SCSG) is the designated state defense force for the state of South Carolina. The State Guard maintains its headquarters in Columbia. Battalions are located in the cities of Columbia (1st Midlands Battalion), Char ...

and the Emergency Management Division; he also advises the governor of the state on military matters.

Early life and education

A native of

Saluda, South Carolina Saluda is a town in Saluda County, South Carolina, United States, along the Little Saluda River. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saluda County. Geography Saluda is located at (34.003131, -81.771691). Accordi ...

he received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

in 1982. He is also a graduate of the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course,

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, Senior Reserve Component Officer Course and the Senior Service Fellowship at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

Military career

Upon graduation from The Citadel McCarty was commissioned as a field artillery officer into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

serving for 5 years with the 24th Infantry Division at

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. Th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

; after spending a year with the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, he joined the South Carolina Army National Guard in 1986 and was assigned to the 178th Field Artillery Regiment at

Andrews, South Carolina Andrews is a town in both Georgetown and Williamsburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Its population was 2,861 at the 2010 census, down from 3,068 in 2000. General aviation airfield Robert F. Swinnie Airport is east of its central ...

. He then served as a forward observer, battery commander, battalion assistant training officer and headquarters company commander. Moving to the 151st Field Artillery Brigade at

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area, the namesake county adjoins Clarendon and Lee to form the core of Sumter-Lee-Clarendon Tri-county (o ...

, he was a fire control officer, battery operations officer and headquarters battery commander and also served as an operations officer with the 178th Field Artillery Brigade deploying to

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. He was subsequently a logistics officer and plans, operations and training officer with the 59th Troop Command in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Returning to the 151st in 2007, he served as a headquarters and headquarters battery commander deploying to

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

. In Afghanistan, he was a battalion commander and regional police advisory commander. Promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, he was elevated to deputy commander of the 59th Troop Command. Then, he moved to a position as air defense artillery officer with the 263rd Army Air and Missile Command. He next was assigned as director of the Joint Staff for the Joint Force Headquarters of the South Carolina National Guard; promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 2012, he became commanding general of the 59th Troop Command. McCarty was elevated to assistant adjutant general – Army for the South Carolina National Guard in 2013 and was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 2017. McCarty succeeded Major General Robert Livingston, who was elected adjutant general in 2011; a change in state law in 2014 made the position an appointee of the governor.

Civilian career

In civilian life, General McCarty served for 24 years in the Law Enforcement Division of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and is a graduate of the

FBI National Academy The FBI National Academy is a program of the FBI Academy for active U.S. law enforcement personnel and also for international law enforcement personnel who seek to enhance their credentials in their field and to raise law enforcement standards, kno ...

Awards

His military awards include the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

and

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarty, Roy V Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Saluda, South Carolina The Citadel alumni United States Army generals