Lieutenant General Kathleen M. Gainey began her life as an “Army Brat”; commissioned as a Transportation Corps officer through ROTC; served her nation as an Army Soldier and spouse for 35 years; and continues to serve in a variety of volunteer jobs.
Kathy grew up in an Army family and both she and her two brothers followed their father, US Army Colonel Maurice (“Chuck”) Gainey into the Army. The family did tours in the Continental United States, Alaska, South Korea, and Germany. Along the way, Kathy attended three different Senior High Schools. She along with her brothers claimed they would never join the Army and all three did!
She received her commission as a second lieutenant through ROTC in 1978, after graduating from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., with a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education. Later, she attended Babson College, Wellesley, Mass., to complete her Master’s in Business Administration in Contract Management and Procurement. Her military education includes the Army Command and General Staff College, Army Contracting Course, and the Army War College.
Her most recent assignments include Deputy Commander, US Transportation Command where she led the command through a major strategic review and period of increasing forces in Afghanistan and decreasing forces in Iraq. General Gainey also served as the Director of Logistics for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here she led a review of the dependency of contractors on the battlefield, updated guidance and equipment divestiture for the departure of forces from Iraq and established an Interagency Logistics Council.
Kathy’s other flag officer experiences include Commander of US Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command; Director of Resources and Sustainment for Multi-National Force Iraq (during Operation Iraqi Freedom); Director of Distribution for the Defense Logistics Agency; And Director, Force Projection and Distribution, Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4.
Kathy’s other assignments include chief, Container Freight Branch, Military Ocean Terminal Bay Area, MTMC Western Area, Oakland, Calif.; program analyst, United States Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command, Rock Island, Ill.; executive officer, 2d Area Support Group, 22d Support Command (during Operation Desert Shield); S-2/S3, 702d Transportation Battalion, Saudi Arabia (during Operation Desert Storm); Division Transportation Officer, 24th Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Stewart, Ga.; special assistant to the Chief of Staff, Army, Washington, D.C.; Commander 7th Corps Support Group; and Chief of Joint Operations Directorate for US Transportation Command. In addition to various performance and service awards, she wears the Army Staff and the Joint Staff Identification Badge.
Following retirement in 2013, Kathy served as Executive Vice President for Logistics in Cypress International. Currently, she volunteers her time at her church and by feeding the homeless and feeding veterans at the Veterans Restoration Quarters located in Asheville, North Carolina. She keeps busy with other volunteer efforts in serving as the Western North Carolina Ambassador to the Military Women’s Memorial, President of The Views of Asheville Homeowners Association, and on the board for Sweeten Creek Neighborhood Association.
She also serves on the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Board of Directors and on three committees (Contractor Assurance, Compensation, and the Executive Committee); and as the Civic Engagement Committee Chair at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNC Asheville. At OLLI she also co-leads two interest groups focused on travel and hiking. She keeps in shape by training new hike leaders and by leading hikes for her fellow OLLI students once a month.
