| Gene McVay | |
|---|---|
Colonel Gene McVay, 2004 |
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| Born | October 7, 1942 Mountain Home, Arkansas |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force & Air National Guard |
| Years of service | 1961–1996 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 75 Military Airlift Squadron 6986th Security Group 6970th Security Group, National Security Agency, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Vance Air Force Base, Tinker Air Force Base, Travis Air Force Base, Fort George G. Meade, Little Rock Air Force Base, Luke Air Force Base, 162nd Fighter Wing |
| Commands held | Air Force and Air National Guard Cope Thunder Provisional Wing, 188th Operations Group, 188th Support Group, 184th Fighter Squadron “B” Flight. |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards |
Meritorious Service Medal |
| Other work | Candidate for Governor of Arkansas, Commander of The American Legion Department of Arkansas, National Officer of The American Legion |
Gene McVay is a fifth generation resident of Arkansas, who had an extensive career in the Air Force and lost to Mike Huckabee in a bid to become governor of Arkansas in 1998.
Colonel McVay is a National Officer of The American Legion serving on the National Executive Committee. As 2009-2010 Commander of The American Legion Department of Arkansas,[1] the largest Veterans' Organization in the state, he led the department to an advance in membership percentage from 47th to 17th nationally. He is a member of several Veterans' Organizations including life member of the Military Order of the World Wars, Air War College Alumni Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Guard Association, the Vietnam Veterans of America and The American Legion. He is also a member of the Military Officers Association of America. On the National Level he is a member of The American Legion Foreign Relations Commission and previously served as Vice Chairman of the Distinguished Guests Committee and a member of the Convention Finance Committee. He is a past chapter president of the Air Force Association. Previously he served as President of the National Guard Association of Arkansas.[2]
He is the Past President of the oldest Civic club in Arkansas, the Fort Smith Noon Civics Club, established in 1911. In 1996, Gene McVay founded the "Principal for a Day" Program in Fort Smith as a part of Partners in Education and taught classes as part of "Leadership Fort Smith."
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His great-great-grandfather Joseph P. McVey was a resident of north Arkansas many years before Mountain Home, Arkansas existed and before Baxter County existed. Gene's great-grandfather, grandfather and father all lived and died within 15 miles of Mountain Home. Gene McVay was born on March 15, 1942, in a log house alongside what is now U.S. Highway 62 East.
He was a candidate for Governor of Arkansas in 1998[3] as a challenger in the Arkansas Republican primary to Mike Huckabee who had been elevated from Lieutenant Governor upon the resignation of Jim Guy Tucker, and who went on to win the general election. In the 1972 Arkansas General Election, he lost a race for the State Senate to Doctor J. Lex Moore of Harrison. In 1973 He became Chairman of the Baxter County Republican Party and member of the Election Commission. He served as Chairman of the Sebastian County Parks Board and Tax Equalization Board.
He had a 35 year military career in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard where he rose through the ranks as an Intelligence Analyst on the Northern tip of Japan and the National Security Agency to become a command pilot and commander of a Multinational Joint Provisional Wing. He was the first Air National Guard Colonel selected to command Cope Thunder,[4] now Red Flag – Alaska. He was both a global-qualified aircraft commander on the C-141 Starlifter, and instructor pilot on the F-101 VooDoo as a First Lieutenant. McVay was subiquently an instructor pilot and flight examiner on the F-100 Super Sabre, F-4 Phantom II, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. He flew 50 combat missions in Vietnam.
Gene McVay is also the author of the leadership and management book, Top Gun Management, 2007, Lulu.com.