Training Area 10 at the U.S. Army Transportation School in Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia, has been renamed Training Area McKinley in honor of Tyrone native Michael McKinley, who passed away March 6, 2019. On hand for the memorialization ceremony were (from left) his mother Sally Boslet Steele; wife, Kellie McKinley; and sister, Kristin Barrett. Courtesy photo

Training Area 10 at the U.S. Army Transportation School in Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia., has been renamed in honor of a Tyrone native.

Training Area McKinley was recently renamed after First Sergeant Retired Michael McKinley, affectionately known as “Mac,” who joined the Army in 1986. He excelled in transportation management and demonstrated exceptional leadership at every level, states the program given to family members who attended the memorialization ceremony on May 5.

McKinley was a transportation management coordinator from 1986-92, overseeing the complex movement of personnel, equipment and cargo across various modes of transport. Across more than five individual tours of Korea, he moved over 1,600 property shipments and millions of pounds of rail freight, which earned him recognition.

His combat deployments included Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Desert Farewell and Operation Restore Hope.

McKinley is credited for streamlining logistical processes resulting in cost savings for the Army.

He was selected as First Sergeant of HHC, 7th Group and 7th Sustainment Brigade, where he prepared 529 soldiers for deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

McKinley retired from the Army in 2009 after completing 23 years of service.

He then continued to serve the Army as a senior instructor at the United State Transportation School, where over the course of nine years he trained more than 2,000 students.

He retired in 2018, culminating 32 years of service to the United States Army Transportation Corps and Soldiers.

McKinley died March 6, 2019. He is survived by his wife, Kellie McKinley, children: Ryan and Kaela, his mother, Sally Boslet Steele of Tyrone and sister, Kristin Barrett. He was preceded in death by a son, Kristopher.