thedrifter
03-13-08, 07:53 AM
LOGCOM’s chief of staff retires
By - Joel C. Guenther, MCLB Albany
MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga. (March 13, 2008) -- In a ceremony marked with pomp and dignity Friday at Maintenance Center Albany, Col. Kevin T. McCutcheon, chief of staff, Marine Corps Logistics Command, accepted his retirement after 32 years in the Marine Corps.
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and LOGCOM dignitaries attended showing their support and extending their best wishes to McCutcheon who enlisted in the Corps in May of 1976. He spent eight years in the enlisted ranks and, then, upon completion of his college degree in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University, he was accepted into officer candidate training under the Enlisted Commissioning Program.
In April, 1983, McCutcheon was commissioned as second lieutenant.
McCutcheon’s list of awards runs on. In 1992 when he was a captain with Naval Air Systems Command serving as F/A-18 support equipment project officer, PMA-265, he was selected as the Marine Corps Aviation Association’s Aviation Ground Officer of the Year. He was selected to attend Marine Corps Command and Staff College in 1996. While at C&SC, he was nominated and was runner-up as aide to the President of the United States.
Prior to becoming chief of staff for LOGCOM, McCutcheon served as the commander of Maintenance Center Albany from June, 2005, until July, 2007.
McCutcheon’s personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three gold stars, the Navy and Marine Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal and the Good Conduct Medal with one star.
To those honors, add the Legion of Merit which Maj. Gen Willie J. Williams, commanding general, LOGCOM, presented to McCutcheon at the ceremony.
McCutcheon said, “If you treat others well, with dignity and respect, they will do anything for you. People have done a lot of things throughout the years to make me look good.” He said his career was all about them.
Besides raising his family, McCutcheon said his proudest moments came when he earned his college degree and when, as a squadron commander, he received the Phoenix Award, the Department of Defense’s highest award for field-level maintenance of weapons systems and equipment. McCutcheon said his greatest honors occurred when “people come to you anxiously, with a problem. You break it down for them and they then take it away and turn it into their own idea.” He added, “I don’t need the credit. I don’t want the credit. That’s mentoring leadership.”
His advice for those Marines remaining was, “We should never lose sight of our history, what got us here. … Keep the warfighter ethos, and also the brotherhood that comes from that. We can’t lose sight of our heritage.”
Williams, at McCutcheon’s retirement ceremony, called this a “bittersweet day.” He said McCutcheon is a man of honor and integrity. Williams added that McCutcheon is “an individual who has given his life to serve his country.”
McCutcheon, in his remarks, commented that the day is not about him, “but it is about the Marine Corps and those who serve in the Corps.”
McCutcheon said about his retirement, “For me it is the right time because you start to strike a balance between all of the service you give to your country and your family.”
Williams said of McCutcheon after the ceremony, “I’m going to miss his friendship the most. But I’m also going to miss just him being in a Marine Corps uniform because I know what it means for him to have that uniform on.”
When he leaves Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, McCutcheon said he is looking forward to spending time with family at his home in Albany. He said, “I want to be part of the Chamber of Commerce, part of our church and maybe get into teaching.”
He said he has property on Lake Hickory in North Carolina and hopes to build a home on it one day.
In the meantime, his immediate plans are to take a short trip to Florida with his oldest brother for some rest and relaxation.
Ellie
By - Joel C. Guenther, MCLB Albany
MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga. (March 13, 2008) -- In a ceremony marked with pomp and dignity Friday at Maintenance Center Albany, Col. Kevin T. McCutcheon, chief of staff, Marine Corps Logistics Command, accepted his retirement after 32 years in the Marine Corps.
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and LOGCOM dignitaries attended showing their support and extending their best wishes to McCutcheon who enlisted in the Corps in May of 1976. He spent eight years in the enlisted ranks and, then, upon completion of his college degree in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University, he was accepted into officer candidate training under the Enlisted Commissioning Program.
In April, 1983, McCutcheon was commissioned as second lieutenant.
McCutcheon’s list of awards runs on. In 1992 when he was a captain with Naval Air Systems Command serving as F/A-18 support equipment project officer, PMA-265, he was selected as the Marine Corps Aviation Association’s Aviation Ground Officer of the Year. He was selected to attend Marine Corps Command and Staff College in 1996. While at C&SC, he was nominated and was runner-up as aide to the President of the United States.
Prior to becoming chief of staff for LOGCOM, McCutcheon served as the commander of Maintenance Center Albany from June, 2005, until July, 2007.
McCutcheon’s personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three gold stars, the Navy and Marine Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal and the Good Conduct Medal with one star.
To those honors, add the Legion of Merit which Maj. Gen Willie J. Williams, commanding general, LOGCOM, presented to McCutcheon at the ceremony.
McCutcheon said, “If you treat others well, with dignity and respect, they will do anything for you. People have done a lot of things throughout the years to make me look good.” He said his career was all about them.
Besides raising his family, McCutcheon said his proudest moments came when he earned his college degree and when, as a squadron commander, he received the Phoenix Award, the Department of Defense’s highest award for field-level maintenance of weapons systems and equipment. McCutcheon said his greatest honors occurred when “people come to you anxiously, with a problem. You break it down for them and they then take it away and turn it into their own idea.” He added, “I don’t need the credit. I don’t want the credit. That’s mentoring leadership.”
His advice for those Marines remaining was, “We should never lose sight of our history, what got us here. … Keep the warfighter ethos, and also the brotherhood that comes from that. We can’t lose sight of our heritage.”
Williams, at McCutcheon’s retirement ceremony, called this a “bittersweet day.” He said McCutcheon is a man of honor and integrity. Williams added that McCutcheon is “an individual who has given his life to serve his country.”
McCutcheon, in his remarks, commented that the day is not about him, “but it is about the Marine Corps and those who serve in the Corps.”
McCutcheon said about his retirement, “For me it is the right time because you start to strike a balance between all of the service you give to your country and your family.”
Williams said of McCutcheon after the ceremony, “I’m going to miss his friendship the most. But I’m also going to miss just him being in a Marine Corps uniform because I know what it means for him to have that uniform on.”
When he leaves Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, McCutcheon said he is looking forward to spending time with family at his home in Albany. He said, “I want to be part of the Chamber of Commerce, part of our church and maybe get into teaching.”
He said he has property on Lake Hickory in North Carolina and hopes to build a home on it one day.
In the meantime, his immediate plans are to take a short trip to Florida with his oldest brother for some rest and relaxation.
Ellie