McCaine Served 22 Years

Rachel Dickerson

McDonald County Press [email protected]

Tim McCaine of Pineville, commander of the American Legion Post 392, served 22 years in the Army National Guard.

He joined during his junior year in high school in 1985. He attended high school at Miami R-1 at Amoret, Mo.

Why did he decided to join the Army National Guard?

"It was because my dad said I wouldn't do it," he said. "He knew I would do it, so he used reverse psychology on me. He was happy from the time I joined until the day I retired."

Two years and two months into his service, McCaine was offered a full-time job as a legal specialist clerk, he said. The Army sent him to school at Fort Benjamin Harris for 10 weeks.

"I wound up court-martialing a lot of guys" in that role, he said. He explained a legal specialist clerk does a lot of legwork for lawyers, handling files and setting up court dates. He stayed in that job until 1991.

In 1991 he went to Olathe, Kan., as a detachment training non-commissioned officer. He set up all the training, set up the soldiers' files and made sure they got paid.

"It's like three or four jobs in one," he said.

He stayed in Olathe for 10 years. While there, the Army sent him to Fort Riley, Kan., for a primary leadership development course to get his E5 (sergeant). Also while in Olathe, he became an ammo section sergeant on the weekends for three years. Then he became a Howitzer section chief on the weekends.

In 2000, he moved to Lenexa, Kan. There he was a battery training non-commissioned officer. He said he was doing the same kind of work he did in Olathe except he did it for the main unit instead of for the detachment.

While at Lenexa, the Army sent him to Ashland, Neb., for basic non-commissioned officer course phase 1. After Phase 1, he was promoted to E6 (staff sergeant). Then he was sent to basic non-commissioned officer course Phase 2 at Fort McCoy, Wis.

"I loved that place. They wanted me to be an instructor there after I took the class," he said.

His unit was activated in October 2002 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They were sent to Fort Riley, Kan., for training and then to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to guard it.

"All the posts got locked down in 2002, so they activated a lot of units for guard duty," he said.

In 2003, they deactivated him and his boss and a few others, and he went back to Lenexa and did the same job as before. He stayed at Lenexa until he retired.

In 2006 the Army was deactivating his battalion, and his peers were being transferred to a new battalion. He put in his retirement packet in time to retire under his old battalion, which was important to him because it was the one in which he started. However, he was a senior instructor for the new battalion in instructing soldiers on going from an A5 Howitzer to an A6. He retired in February 2007.

"My pride and joy was the Army," McCaine said. "It was a dare (by) my dad but, once I got in, I never thought about getting out until I got my 20 years. The flag means everything to me. I'm very patriotic."

He has been a member of the American Legion Post 392 for 11 years and commander for three years. He now works for the road and bridge crew for McDonald County.

McCaine has a son, William Evan McCaine, who is in the Army. He has been on active duty for a little more than six years and is stationed in Fort Sill, Okla. McCaine also has a son who is trying to get into active duty, he said.

He noted his wife, Kathy, supported him totally in the military and when he was getting his staff sergeant rank.

McCaine said all veterans are invited to a Christmas dinner at the American Legion Post 392 at 6 p.m. Nov. 30.