FORT DETRICK, Md. – After nearly five decades of military and civilian service, Kevin Culihan is calling it a career.
Fellow leaders and colleagues at U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command honored Culihan, the retiring deputy director of AMLC’s Medical Maintenance Management Directorate, or M3D, with heartfelt praise during a retirement ceremony Aug. 31 at Fort Detrick.
M3D Director Jorge Magana praised Culihan’s enduring impact, deep technical expertise and uncompromising integrity in support of the medical maintenance enterprise.
“Beyond his tactical and technical expertise, what defines Kevin is his absolute, uncompromising honesty,” Magana said during his remarks. “Kevin is a no-nonsense leader who will always tell you the unvarnished truth. … He has the guts to say what needs to be said because he genuinely cares about the mission and the people around him, like a true sergeant major.”
During the ceremony, AMLC Commander Col. Deon Maxwell and Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew DeCola presented Culihan with the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, as well as his retirement award and certificates of appreciation to him and his wife, Mary.
Culihan’s nearly 50-year career spans 26 years in uniform, followed by more than two decades as a contractor and Army Civilian, marking a continuous legacy of leadership within the Army’s biomedical maintenance enterprise.
A native of the Albany, New York area, Culihan enlisted in the U.S. Army at 17 as a biomedical equipment maintenance specialist. Over the course of his active-duty career, he rose through the noncommissioned officer ranks, culminating his uniformed service as the sergeant major for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency’s National Maintenance Program. He retired from active duty in January 2003.
Following a brief period working as a contractor, Culihan returned to USAMMA as a civilian in August 2006, serving as the agency’s first-ever sustainment maintenance coordinator. For the past 17 years, he has served as the deputy director of M3D, overseeing life cycle management, maintenance engineering and forward-depot support for medical materiel across the globe.
“To feel like you're providing a service to ensure that Soldiers injured in battle or in the theater have the appropriate medical care and equipment ... that's what we're really here for,”Culihan said, reflecting on his career prior to the Aug. 31 ceremony.
Throughout his tenure as a civilian leader, Culihan championed data-informed logistics and life cycle sustainment, constantly challenging his team to connect depot-level analysis directly to readiness at the point of care.
During his ceremony remarks, Culihan turned the spotlight away from himself, emphasizing that his accomplishments were a direct product of collective teamwork.
“I appreciate all the praise, all the accolades … but I didn’t do all those things by myself,” he said. “Everything I did was with a team. Sometimes, I had to lead the team, sometimes I was in a supporting role, but it was all a team effort. So keep up the good teamwork.”
Culihan’s retirement comes during an era of significant organizational and technological transformation not just at AMLC, but for the Army as a whole. He urged his colleagues to aggressively adapt to the future operating environment.
“The only constant is change, and many of you have seen it every day. We are changing daily,” Culihan said. “We can sit back on our laurels and hope that the Army will someday come to its senses and let us do things the way we used to, but that’s not going to happen. So if I had to give you anything at all … get on board and don’t get left behind, and do everything you can to enact the changes coming.”
Culihan also took time to thank his wife, acknowledging her steady support across decades of military and civilian service.
“She’s always been there for me,” Culihan shared. “Mary routinely tells me that I struggle with showing affection in public, so Mary, for the record, I love you.”
In retirement, Culihan plans to spend more time at his Virginia lake house with his wife. He looks forward to fishing, some overdue home maintenance and spending time with his four children and nine grandchildren.
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