Mr.
McKinney entered the cryptologic community in 1948 with
the Army Security Agency after graduating from A&T
State University in Greensboro, NC, in electrical engineering
and physics. He was involved in the engineering and field
deployment of special HF Signals Intelligence equipment
used in the detailed analysis of characteristics of transmitters
of unfriendly military forces. He was a member of the
first NSA engineering group when NSA was formed in 1952.
As target communications at VHF and higher frequencies
were encountered, Mr. McKinney played a critical role
in the development and fielding of equipments to meet
this challenge. His work was not limited to the laboratory
but involved extensive field work to rapidly deploy these
equipments. Mr. McKinney retired from the NSA in 1973
to become a full-time staff member of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church.