White Sands Test Center Commander Col. Shawn Smart, right, WSMR Commander Brig. Gen. George C. Turner, second from left, and WSMR Command Sgt. Maj. Michael S. Cordery, left, present certificates to Rodney McKinnon, and his wife during the Honors and Retirement ceremony July 16 at the Post Theater. McKinnon is retiring with a combined 50 years of service to include his military service.
WSMR honors employees at Honors and Retirement ceremony
Several White Sands Missile Range employees were recognized for their dedicated work and service during the quarterly Honors and Retirement ceremony July 16 at the Post Theater.
Among them was Ignacio Hernandez, who will be retiring at the end of the month after working 35 years at WSMR, and Rodney McKinnon, who serves as the Nuclear Surety Program Manager for the White Sands Test Center and will also be retiring with a combined 50 years of service to include his military service.
Hernandez, who most recently worked with the Range Operations Met Support Branch, started his career at WSMR working at the Materiel Test Directorate in 1989, where he spent 10 years.
After that he was the test conductor for several test programs such as the Delta Clipper and the Sentinel.
Born in Juarez, Mexico, Hernandez attended school at the University of Texas in El Paso, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
He also took programming classes to get into programming and went to work for Range Operations. After that he went to work for the Real Time Group, where he stayed until he took another slot. Followed by a slot in Data Reduction before ending up at the Real Time Group where he became lead controller with programs such as GMLRS and ATACMS. He also got to go to Kodiak, Alaska.
“I have enjoyed working with every person that I have dealt with here at WSMR,” Hernandez said.
McKinnon arrived at WSMR in 2016 and assumed the duties of Surety Officer. From 1995 to 2016 he served as the OCONUS Combatant Commanders Communications Teams Liaison Officer, Nuclear Surety Officer, Personnel Security, Physical Security, Operations Security, Anti-Terrorism, COMSEC Manager, and Organization Inspection Program Lead for 2D Signal Brigade, 5th Signal Command, NETCOM, and USAREUR European Area of Responsibility.
He received a master’s degree from Columbia Southern University in Business Administration and Project Management in 2013 and a Bachelor of Science from University of Maryland in Information Management in 2005.
Also recognized where several individuals who received Length of Service Awards, Commander’s Coins, Certificates of Achievement and Civilian Service Awards.
WSTC Commander Col. Shawn Smart closed out the event by thanking Team WSMR for their hard work and dedication. Smart will be retiring from military service in August.
“My time here has been both challenging and rewarding,” Smart said. “It has been an extraordinary experience for me to walk alongside all of you and see the things that you do on a regular basis.”
Cutline:
White Sands Test Center Commander Col. Shawn Smart, right, WSMR Commander Brig. Gen. George C. Turner, second from left, and WSMR Command Sgt. Maj. Michael S. Cordery, left, present certificates to Ignacio Hernandez and his wife Maricela, center, during the Honors and Retirement ceremony July 16 at the Post Theater. They are accompanied by their son Andres. Hernandez will be retiring at the end of the month after working 35 years at WSMR.
Miriam Rodriguez
WSMR Public Affairs