ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The Army Warrant Officer Corps was born July 9, 1918, when an act of Congress established the Army Mine Planter Service as a part of the Coast Artillery Corps. Warrant officers are the technical experts, combat leaders, trainers, and advisors of the Army. While they comprise less than 3% of the overall force, they boast a collective of more than 25,000 across 17 branches and 48 specialties.
Out of these 25,000 warrant officers, there are 37 chief warrant officer fives in the Signal Regiment. Chief warrant officer fives are master-level technical and tactical experts who perform the primary duties of technical leader, manager, integrator, and advisor.
U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 Linc W. McCoy is one of these 37.
Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, McCoy is a first generation American to Caribbean immigrant parents. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Thomas Edison State University, Trenton, New Jersey, and a long list of military education befitting a senior leader. McCoy joined the Army in 1995, naturally inclined toward electronics and technology.
“I’ve always had a knack for taking [electronics] apart,” he said. “I was taking radios apart and putting them back together. I helped [neighbors and friends] fix radios and televisions at an early age.”
McCoy picked up this knack by watching his father, who was a mechanic for Mack trucks for many years.
McCoy felt drawn to the Army by his family’s service. His cousin joined the Army when McCoy was 5 years old. He has since retired as a sergeant major after more than 26 years of service. McCoy’s mother, who worked as a public service nurse for 40 years, spent 15 years as a nurse in the Army Reserve.
During his 29 years of service, McCoy has served his country in a plethora of assignments on different echelons. His Army journey began with basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and allowed him to travel all over the world for assignments. His first assignment as an enlisted Soldier placed him in Suwon, Korea, as a signal systems maintainer with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, 8th U.S. Army. As he sought more ways to support the warfighter, McCoy had his first assignment as a warrant officer with the Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Cavazos, Texas, as a division network security and communications security technician.
“I’ve had the chance to work at the White House and Pentagon,” McCoy said. “I worked at the White House as a personal communicator for President [Barrack] Obama and [Donald] Trump. I [also] worked for the Secretary of Defense Gen. (Ret.) [James] Mattis as a communications senior technical advisor.”
Now at APG, McCoy supports the CECOM mission as the command chief warrant officer. He works with industry partners, vetting them and their products and services. McCoy briefs warrant officers across the force about CECOM’s accomplishments and lines of effort. He provides senior-level technical collaborations with all APG tenants and mission partners like U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, U.S. Army Cyber Command, and U.S. Army Forces Command. He advises CECOM’s commanding general on technical topics like system modernization—specifically Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems. McCoy also advises all directors and commanders within major subordinate commands.
“To be a warrant officer is to be a technical expert in all things Army and being an advisor to DOD senior leaders,” he said. “[Warrant officers] serve as the glue between Army officers, enlisted [Soldiers], civilians, and contractors.”
Importance of mentorship
McCoy enjoys mentoring the younger generation. One of his biggest accomplishments is achieving the rank of chief warrant officer five in the Army as a first-generation American to Caribbean immigrant parents, he said. McCoy grew up living with government assistance programs in a one-bedroom apartment. He attributes the Army with giving him the opportunity to grow.
“To be an example to individuals that don’t have someone to look up to is an honor,” he said. “In order to achieve it, [this generation] needs to see it. If they see someone that looks like them reaching heights, they didn’t believe were possible, then they’ll aspire to do it.”
McCoy not only mentors warrant officers who have enhanced the Army across the board, but also the Pathways in Technology Early College High School Program, a STEM magnet program where high school students are exposed to college-level courses and work-based learning. The program is offered at Joppatowne High School in partnership with Harford Community College and CECOM.
McCoy calls himself the students’ “hype man.”
“I motivate the teams and provide them with the opportunity to see a person in uniform as an example of the people they’re supporting as students of P-TECH,” he stated. “The partnership with P-TECH allows us as a DOD entity to see what our future holds for engineers. It gives a window on what the future holds, and how we can continue to modernize.”
McCoy stressed the importance of this partnership and relationship.
“Mentorship is important because you don’t know everything,” he continued. “You get a better understanding of where you came from and where you want to go. Mentorship helps with networking, teambuilding, and establishing diversity of thought.”
McCoy is also grateful for all the mentors who helped him along the way. He added that the Army gave him an education, a platform to showcase how his skillset supports the force, and the opportunity to travel and experience various cultures, he added.
“The Army has allowed me to give back,” McCoy said. “It has allowed me to not only fine-tune who I am as an individual and find my calling but to give back and be an example for those within my family and communities.”
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