Senate committee advances nomination of Col. Mike McCoy to Kansas National Guard brigadier general

Colonel Mike McCoy received a favorable committee report Thursday on his nomination to Brigadier General in the Kansas National Guard after a confirmation hearing and questions from senators about deployment preparation.

The nomination was advanced by voice vote after McCoy described his military career and outlined priorities for preparing the 30th/35th Infantry Division for a scheduled deployment. Committee member Senator Gene Dietrich moved to report the nomination favorably and Senator Thomas seconded the motion; the committee voice vote passed and the committee chair announced the nomination “passed out favorably.”

McCoy told the committee he grew up in Abilene, Texas, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1997 and served 11 years on active duty as a field artillery officer, including assignments at Fort Sill and with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. “I graduated in 1997 and, served on active duty for 11 years as a field artillery officer,” McCoy said. He described subsequent service in the Kansas National Guard, deployments, and staff roles, including work on domestic-response planning after Hurricane Katrina and leading units through training rotations.

Asked about the scope of the division’s operations and the geographic footprint he would help lead, McCoy said the 30th/35th Infantry Division is headquartered at Fort Leavenworth and “has 7 brigades that are spread out across 6 different states” comprising approximately 15,000 soldiers. He said one of his primary missions will be preparing the headquarters for the division’s next scheduled deployment in 2027 and that the preparation and warfighter exercises that precede deployment are “very challenging.”

Committee members asked about McCoy’s leadership experience and the challenges he expects in the new role. McCoy said his senior-level experience taught him complex problems cannot be solved alone and that a key skill is getting the most out of a team: “you've got to really, know how to read people and know what gets the most out of people.”

Senator Dietrich moved the nomination out of committee. The motion was seconded by Senator Thomas; after a voice vote the vice chair said, “Motion passes and he has passed out favorably.” No roll-call tally was recorded in the hearing transcript.

McCoy thanked the committee for considering his nomination and expressed appreciation to Governor Kelly and the adjutant general for the appointment. The committee then moved on to other business.