William Gainey

Biography

Gainey enlisted in the Army under the Delayed Entry Program in 1974 and entered basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky on June 17, 1975. Since then, he has served in a number of enlisted leadership positions, from gunner to Command Sergeant Major.

Gainey's assignments include: Driver, Loader, Gunner, and Tank Commander in the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor (Tiger Brigade), 2nd Armored Division, Ft Hood, Tx.; Gunner, Tank Commander, and Platoon Sergeant in the 4th Battalion, 73rd Armored, 1st Infantry Division, Böblingen, Germany; Platoon Leader in the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored, 24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; Drill Sergeant and Senior Drill Sergeant in the 19th Battalion, 4th Training Brigade, Ft Knox, Ky.; Platoon Sergeant and Operations Sergeant in the 3rd Battalion, 73rd Armor, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft Bragg, N.C.; Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeant in the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Airborne, Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.; Senior Enlisted Armor Advisor, Ft Jackson, S.C..

Gainey served as the Command Sergeant Major for the 2nd Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; Eagle Base, Bosnia and Herzegovina; 1st Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, La.; 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, La.; The United States Army Armor Center, Fort Knox, Ky; and as the Command Sergeant Major for the III Corps and Fort Hood at Fort Hood, Texas.

Gainey served in Operation Joint Endeavor (IFOR), Operation Joint Guard (SFOR 3) and Operation Joint Forge (SFOR 8) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served as the Command Sergeant Major for the Combined Joint Task Force 7 (CJTF-7) and as the Command Sergeant Major of the Multi-National Corps Iraq (MNC-I) in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

Gainey attended numerous military schools and training programs to include: the Drill Sergeant School; Airborne School; Jumpmaster School; Air Movement Officer's Course; Observer Controller Course; First Sergeants Course; Pathfinder School; and the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Class 41. Gainey holds an Associate of Applied Science degree from Vincennes University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Touro University International and a Masters of Arts degree in Education from Trident University International. Since his retirement from the Army, Gainey has taken a board member position at Trident University International.

Anecdotally, CSM Gainey was known to his soldiers to carry a steel ball bearing from an Abrams tank in his pocket which he called his "Military Bearing". He would encourage soldiers to challenge him by asking if he had his "Military Bearing". If he was able to respond to the challenge by producing it, both he and the challenging soldier would drop and do push-ups. If he did not have it, the soldier would be awarded a Battalion coin. Some Soldiers are known to still challenge to see if he still carries his Military Bearing. Once asked about this, his reply with his noted friendly smile was, "my Soldiers will just have to take a chance and ask."

List of Medals and Ribbons

Badges

CSM Gainey is also a recipient of: