Lt. Col. Stewart “Beef” McKnelly
U.S. Marine Corps.
Somalia/Afghanistan/Australia
July 14, 1990 – May 31, 2014
U.S. Marine Corps.
Somalia/Afghanistan/Australia
July 14, 1990 – May 31, 2014
Stew McKnelly was born in Baltimore at John Hopkins Hospital in 1969. The family moved
to Alexandria, VA where he attended St. Stephens School for Boys through the 9th grade. Stew recalls his parents receiving a letter reading something like, “Stew, we appreciate your attendance but you’re going to have to find another academic institution.” Mom and Dad helped Stew transition to the Trinity Pawling School in New York State. There he played football, Wrestled 167lbs and played lacrosse. “Probably four of the best years of my life and really shaped me as a man with the principles of being a leader and knowing what a male role model was.”
Stew was recruited to play goalie for the Ohio Wesleyan University lacrosse team. “Things didn’t work out on the lacrosse field, so I transitioned and played football for two years.” One day during his sophomore year in 1988 Stew was walking though the Student Union and he ran into Marine recruiter, Captain Tom Downey, who at the time was an H1 Cobra pilot. “You think you’re good enough to be a Marine?” Captain Downey asked. Stew replied, “yeah I’m good enough to be a Marine.” Captain Downey said, “well then sign the paperwork.” Stew signed, but now had to tell his dad who had dreams of Stew becoming an accountant with a big accounting firm. Stew recalls calling his dad and saying, “Dad, I figured out what I’m going to do with my life and that’s be a Marine. I took a test and did really well and they’re gonna let me fly something.” Mr. McKnelly didn’t share Stew’s excitement and immediately jumped on a plane to Ohio. When he landed, he and Stew had a three-day conversation about how Stew was throwing his life away and he needed to get his accounting degree.
The contract Stew signed gave him the opportunity to complete his degree and get a jump on his Marine training by attending Platoon Leaders class in the summer. He went through 6 weeks of training in Quantico, VA at the end of his sophomore year and again at the end of his junior year. Upon graduation candidates are commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. Stew broke his ankle during the second training class and had to return to Quantico for a 3rd time.
After completing his third time through Quantico Stew was officially commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, and he headed for Basic Infantry Training for Officers for 7 months. Stew had a flight contract and upon completion of Basic School he headed for flight training in Pensacola, FL. Initially Stew thought he was going to fly jets, but at Basic School his Captain was a CH 46 pilot who really left an impression on him. Stew thought he wanted to be around guys like him, so he made up his mind to a be a CH 46 pilot.
At flight school, he found that not many people were getting in line to learn to fly a CH 46. Most guys wanted to fly F-18 Hornets, C130’s, UH1 Gunships and Cobra’s. The CH 46 was a Vietnam era aircraft that was a troop transport work horse. “It carried the deadliest weapon in the Marine Corp. inventory which is that 18 year old kid with a thunderstick that was ready to run out the back and stomp somebody’s skull.” Working with the CH 46 crews and transporting the basic grunts into combat had a real team feeling to it. That team concept appealed to Stew. “I was accused of being a grunt trapped in an aviators’ body.”
Stew met Katie Hess the second month of college and they dated throughout. They briefly broke up at the end of college, but his father told him that Katie was the only girl Stew had ever dated that he remotely liked so he should seriously reconsider his actions. Things eventually rekindled and on November 10th of 1990 Stew got down on one knee, in front of 2,100 Marines, and asked her to marry him. They were married on July 27th, 1991. On the following Monday Stew left for a week of Survival Training.
After completing flight school, Stew drove cross country to Tustin, CA and checked into his air group. For the next month Stew learned to fly the CH 46 and in June 1993 he was assigned to his first fleet squadron. In February ‘95 Stew deployed to Somalia, shortly after Blackhawk Down had occurred. Their job was to evacuate Germans and Pakistanis from Mogadishu. They wrapped up this assignment in March ’95. I asked Stew what was going through his mind as he prepared to deploy to a very dangerous area. “I was excited about it….you never join a team to just practice all the time and when the games arrive hope to sit on the sidelines…..I wanted to go do what I was supposed to do as a Marine…..I wanted to see if my skills met the expectation.” His final vision leaving Somalia was watching a group of children running toward a tent for the rice and water that the Germans had left behind. He then watched Somali War Lords pull up in their vehicles with machine guns mounted on the back and gunning down the children because they were “stealing” the rice and water. The rules of engagement at the time stated that unless the Somali’s did something to provoke retaliation, the Americans were to hold their fire. Stew mentioned that Somali was known as the French Riviera of Africa in the ‘60s. “You could see it. It was a beautiful coastal city, but now it was war-torn and riddled with holes.”
Stew returned home to Katie who was 6 months pregnant, and he threw himself into preparing to being a dad. Despite impending fatherhood, “the needs of the Marine Corps come first” and he was told he would be deploying in 10 months to serve as a forward air controller with 1st Battalion 4th Marines. Stew attended Forward Air Controller School to learn his new role and upon completion he headed for Camp Pendleton and deployed in April ’96. “This was when Sadaam was starting to rattle his sword, Al Qaida was starting to do things and then the (USS) Cole happened, so we went into the Middle East with heightened awareness.” Stew and a Marine Expeditionary Unit spent three weeks doing military exercises with the Kuwaiti army. Most of it was a show of force to the Iraqi’s.
When Stew arrived back in the states, he was asked to participate in the Marine Air Weapons and Tactics School which is the Marine Corp equivalent of Top Gun. Stew spent 6 weeks of intense flying and learning all the aircraft systems before he headed off to Yuma Arizona for 8 weeks of training to become a Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI). WTI designation makes you the expert in your squadron for all flight disciplines and systems and it is your responsibility to impart that knowledge to all personnel in your squadron.
Stew departed for Kuwait and the Persian Gulf on his third deployment leaving behind his wife and two young sons. This deployment involved a lot of time stuck on a ship due to the rules of engagement.
Stew was promoted to Major and was enjoying his role as Pilot Training Officer. He was teaching new lieutenants coming out of flight school how to fly the CH 46. During this time, a very good friend was promoted to Lt. Col. in January of 2000. He inherited an underperforming and dysfunctional squadron that needed to be turned around. The Lt. Col. asked him to be the Aircraft Maintenance Officer (AMO). Knowing that Stew had deployed three times in four years and an additional deployment could create some family stress, he first called Stew’s wife and asked her if she was ok with Stew taking this position and it would require him to deploy within a year. Katie said yes and called Stew. She told him about her conversation, that she said yes, and told Stew to accept. “You can’t pick your commanding officer and he is one of your good friends, so go do your thing.” Behind every good Marine stands a no nonsense, get-it-done woman.
Stew did not have a designation as AMO but had the most experience having been deployed so frequently. Stew was sent to AMO school, and some feathers were ruffled within his new squadron. Because of Stew’s flight leadership experience and WTI designation, the Lt. Col. kept tapping Stew to lead training flights rather than serve as the AMO. The Lt. Col. also told Stew that after this deployment his next role would be the Marine Attaché at the US Embassy in Australia. Stew and his squadron went back to the Kuwaiti border.
In September 2001 Stew’s unit was returning home from deployment and the first stop was Hawaii. When leaving Hawaii on September 11th Stew called his wife and was enjoying a telephone conversation when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. When the second plane hit the second tower the military shut down all communication and the phone went dead. Stew was able to get onto a computer and he could see the video of the twin towers falling. He was sure they would turn the ship around and head back to the Middle East. Due to the vagaries of the rules of the military, Stew’s unit was sent back to the States.
In December 2001 the McKnelly family headed to Bolling Air Force Base where Stew spent 6 months at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Stew didn’t think he was cut out to be an Intelligence Officer, but he completed the training. The training covered everything from gathering overt intelligence, to determining if they were being followed, to developing proper situational awareness, to properly using all the eating utensils at a formal state dinner.
With his “Spook” training under his belt, Stew and his family eventually headed off for a four year stint in Canberra, Australia. Stews children were 7, 4 and 15 months at the time. Stews recalled that this position was quite rewarding. The family lived in very opulent house and did a lot of entertaining. “It was an eye opening experience, and we got to meet a lot of great people from a lot of different nations.” 18 months into this assignment, there was a in leadership. “I went from one of the top three military officers I ever worked for, to the worst.” The new commander managed to ruffle feathers not only in the US military but in the Australian military as well. During this time there was a need for a military attaché in Afghanistan. Much to Stew’s surprise he was selected. While Stew was gone, the friends he made at the Royal Marine Corps Made sure that his family was well taken care of.
Stew spent 5 months in Afghanistan stationed in Kabul at the US Embassy. He was rarely there. He spent most of his time out in “the wild, wild, west”. He traveled to places such Herat, Mazar – Sharif and Bamyan. His job was to gather intelligence. “It was one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to in my life with some of the most beautiful people I have ever associated with in my life.” “Their biggest message to me was, ‘don’t ever leave us’.” Stew estimated 10% to 15% of the Afghani’s didn’t want the US in their country. These people were involved with the opium trade, terrorists, or the people with the guns. “The Taliban was so cruel and so violent to the people in the small towns. The Afghani’s liked the peace and stability the US brought to the area.” Most of the details of this deployment are classified.
“We in the western culture are into immediate gratification and planning for our long term future. They are worried about the next day and whether they can feed their families. They don’t have tv and they don’t run to the grocery store for milk and bread. They save their goat dung, dry it out and put their handprint in it. That becomes a fuel source and how they cook their food.” Small town Afghanistan may not be too dissimilar to small town USA in terms of basic human concerns.
Stew talked about building trust and how “everything was done over a meal and not to eat is considered disrespectful. That meant Stew ate a lot of goat and dates, smoked lots of Marlboro Reds and drank a lot of Lipton Tea, which was a favorite of the Afghani’s. Five months later Stew went back to Australia and served out his last year and was promoted to Lt Colonel. He did his job so well the Australian Army offered Stew a commission in the Australian Army as a Helicopter pilot. Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Stew and his family came back to California and was promoted to Executive Officer of the training squadron, HMMT 164. After about a year he was asked to be on the Wing Staff in Iraq, but Stew turned it down to make sure his family had a stable environment. In April 2008, Stew moved to Norfolk, VA to a position on the Air Staff of Marine Corps Command. Stew was considered for a Commanding Officers assignment but was put on the alternate list and was told to be ready to relocate anywhere there is a commanding officer opening. As luck would have it, there was an unexpected opening in Norfolk. Stew took command of Squadron HMM 774. This was a reserve squadron that came in one weekend every month. Stew had now achieved the two goals he set out for himself when he joined the Corps; become a commanding officer of a helicopter squadron and reach the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Stew quickly assessed that his unit of reserve Marines was severely underperforming. Early on Stew demand they act and perform like Marines. Slowly the unit started to turnaround and eventually reached the point where Stew was able to have a talk with his Marines and ask what they wanted to accomplish as Marine Reservists. The answer was they wanted to be true Marines. Stew created an environment for that to happen. They did unit PT (physical training), spent time at the rifle and pistol range, did Marine Corp Instruction and more. Stew ended up with a very happy unit and they were the top squadron in the wing. HMM 774 had the Marine of the Year and for six straight quarters had Marine of the Quarter. “They were killing it. I loved every minute of it.” “I learned early on that if you take care of your Marines, they will take care of you. I treated them like family.”
After his two-year stint was up, Stew was required to give up command of the unit much to his dismay. His next assignment was in the War College of the Marine Corp. After a less than fulfilling experience Stew retired 5/31/2014. “I’ve missed it every day since then. I’d go back and do everything I could do for them. I loved being a Marine.”
“I did everything the Marine Corp asked of me and I achieved the goals I wanted to achieve. I can look back on it and I have no regrets.”
“The Marine Corps was the best thing I ever did in my life, except for marrying the women I have been married to for 32 years.”
Thank you Stew for spending so much time away from your family, for all the goat and dates you ate and for the sacrifices you and your family made. There are a lot of Marines and Americans that are thankful for your service.
to Alexandria, VA where he attended St. Stephens School for Boys through the 9th grade. Stew recalls his parents receiving a letter reading something like, “Stew, we appreciate your attendance but you’re going to have to find another academic institution.” Mom and Dad helped Stew transition to the Trinity Pawling School in New York State. There he played football, Wrestled 167lbs and played lacrosse. “Probably four of the best years of my life and really shaped me as a man with the principles of being a leader and knowing what a male role model was.”
Stew was recruited to play goalie for the Ohio Wesleyan University lacrosse team. “Things didn’t work out on the lacrosse field, so I transitioned and played football for two years.” One day during his sophomore year in 1988 Stew was walking though the Student Union and he ran into Marine recruiter, Captain Tom Downey, who at the time was an H1 Cobra pilot. “You think you’re good enough to be a Marine?” Captain Downey asked. Stew replied, “yeah I’m good enough to be a Marine.” Captain Downey said, “well then sign the paperwork.” Stew signed, but now had to tell his dad who had dreams of Stew becoming an accountant with a big accounting firm. Stew recalls calling his dad and saying, “Dad, I figured out what I’m going to do with my life and that’s be a Marine. I took a test and did really well and they’re gonna let me fly something.” Mr. McKnelly didn’t share Stew’s excitement and immediately jumped on a plane to Ohio. When he landed, he and Stew had a three-day conversation about how Stew was throwing his life away and he needed to get his accounting degree.
The contract Stew signed gave him the opportunity to complete his degree and get a jump on his Marine training by attending Platoon Leaders class in the summer. He went through 6 weeks of training in Quantico, VA at the end of his sophomore year and again at the end of his junior year. Upon graduation candidates are commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. Stew broke his ankle during the second training class and had to return to Quantico for a 3rd time.
After completing his third time through Quantico Stew was officially commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, and he headed for Basic Infantry Training for Officers for 7 months. Stew had a flight contract and upon completion of Basic School he headed for flight training in Pensacola, FL. Initially Stew thought he was going to fly jets, but at Basic School his Captain was a CH 46 pilot who really left an impression on him. Stew thought he wanted to be around guys like him, so he made up his mind to a be a CH 46 pilot.
At flight school, he found that not many people were getting in line to learn to fly a CH 46. Most guys wanted to fly F-18 Hornets, C130’s, UH1 Gunships and Cobra’s. The CH 46 was a Vietnam era aircraft that was a troop transport work horse. “It carried the deadliest weapon in the Marine Corp. inventory which is that 18 year old kid with a thunderstick that was ready to run out the back and stomp somebody’s skull.” Working with the CH 46 crews and transporting the basic grunts into combat had a real team feeling to it. That team concept appealed to Stew. “I was accused of being a grunt trapped in an aviators’ body.”
Stew met Katie Hess the second month of college and they dated throughout. They briefly broke up at the end of college, but his father told him that Katie was the only girl Stew had ever dated that he remotely liked so he should seriously reconsider his actions. Things eventually rekindled and on November 10th of 1990 Stew got down on one knee, in front of 2,100 Marines, and asked her to marry him. They were married on July 27th, 1991. On the following Monday Stew left for a week of Survival Training.
After completing flight school, Stew drove cross country to Tustin, CA and checked into his air group. For the next month Stew learned to fly the CH 46 and in June 1993 he was assigned to his first fleet squadron. In February ‘95 Stew deployed to Somalia, shortly after Blackhawk Down had occurred. Their job was to evacuate Germans and Pakistanis from Mogadishu. They wrapped up this assignment in March ’95. I asked Stew what was going through his mind as he prepared to deploy to a very dangerous area. “I was excited about it….you never join a team to just practice all the time and when the games arrive hope to sit on the sidelines…..I wanted to go do what I was supposed to do as a Marine…..I wanted to see if my skills met the expectation.” His final vision leaving Somalia was watching a group of children running toward a tent for the rice and water that the Germans had left behind. He then watched Somali War Lords pull up in their vehicles with machine guns mounted on the back and gunning down the children because they were “stealing” the rice and water. The rules of engagement at the time stated that unless the Somali’s did something to provoke retaliation, the Americans were to hold their fire. Stew mentioned that Somali was known as the French Riviera of Africa in the ‘60s. “You could see it. It was a beautiful coastal city, but now it was war-torn and riddled with holes.”
Stew returned home to Katie who was 6 months pregnant, and he threw himself into preparing to being a dad. Despite impending fatherhood, “the needs of the Marine Corps come first” and he was told he would be deploying in 10 months to serve as a forward air controller with 1st Battalion 4th Marines. Stew attended Forward Air Controller School to learn his new role and upon completion he headed for Camp Pendleton and deployed in April ’96. “This was when Sadaam was starting to rattle his sword, Al Qaida was starting to do things and then the (USS) Cole happened, so we went into the Middle East with heightened awareness.” Stew and a Marine Expeditionary Unit spent three weeks doing military exercises with the Kuwaiti army. Most of it was a show of force to the Iraqi’s.
When Stew arrived back in the states, he was asked to participate in the Marine Air Weapons and Tactics School which is the Marine Corp equivalent of Top Gun. Stew spent 6 weeks of intense flying and learning all the aircraft systems before he headed off to Yuma Arizona for 8 weeks of training to become a Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI). WTI designation makes you the expert in your squadron for all flight disciplines and systems and it is your responsibility to impart that knowledge to all personnel in your squadron.
Stew departed for Kuwait and the Persian Gulf on his third deployment leaving behind his wife and two young sons. This deployment involved a lot of time stuck on a ship due to the rules of engagement.
Stew was promoted to Major and was enjoying his role as Pilot Training Officer. He was teaching new lieutenants coming out of flight school how to fly the CH 46. During this time, a very good friend was promoted to Lt. Col. in January of 2000. He inherited an underperforming and dysfunctional squadron that needed to be turned around. The Lt. Col. asked him to be the Aircraft Maintenance Officer (AMO). Knowing that Stew had deployed three times in four years and an additional deployment could create some family stress, he first called Stew’s wife and asked her if she was ok with Stew taking this position and it would require him to deploy within a year. Katie said yes and called Stew. She told him about her conversation, that she said yes, and told Stew to accept. “You can’t pick your commanding officer and he is one of your good friends, so go do your thing.” Behind every good Marine stands a no nonsense, get-it-done woman.
Stew did not have a designation as AMO but had the most experience having been deployed so frequently. Stew was sent to AMO school, and some feathers were ruffled within his new squadron. Because of Stew’s flight leadership experience and WTI designation, the Lt. Col. kept tapping Stew to lead training flights rather than serve as the AMO. The Lt. Col. also told Stew that after this deployment his next role would be the Marine Attaché at the US Embassy in Australia. Stew and his squadron went back to the Kuwaiti border.
In September 2001 Stew’s unit was returning home from deployment and the first stop was Hawaii. When leaving Hawaii on September 11th Stew called his wife and was enjoying a telephone conversation when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. When the second plane hit the second tower the military shut down all communication and the phone went dead. Stew was able to get onto a computer and he could see the video of the twin towers falling. He was sure they would turn the ship around and head back to the Middle East. Due to the vagaries of the rules of the military, Stew’s unit was sent back to the States.
In December 2001 the McKnelly family headed to Bolling Air Force Base where Stew spent 6 months at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Stew didn’t think he was cut out to be an Intelligence Officer, but he completed the training. The training covered everything from gathering overt intelligence, to determining if they were being followed, to developing proper situational awareness, to properly using all the eating utensils at a formal state dinner.
With his “Spook” training under his belt, Stew and his family eventually headed off for a four year stint in Canberra, Australia. Stews children were 7, 4 and 15 months at the time. Stews recalled that this position was quite rewarding. The family lived in very opulent house and did a lot of entertaining. “It was an eye opening experience, and we got to meet a lot of great people from a lot of different nations.” 18 months into this assignment, there was a in leadership. “I went from one of the top three military officers I ever worked for, to the worst.” The new commander managed to ruffle feathers not only in the US military but in the Australian military as well. During this time there was a need for a military attaché in Afghanistan. Much to Stew’s surprise he was selected. While Stew was gone, the friends he made at the Royal Marine Corps Made sure that his family was well taken care of.
Stew spent 5 months in Afghanistan stationed in Kabul at the US Embassy. He was rarely there. He spent most of his time out in “the wild, wild, west”. He traveled to places such Herat, Mazar – Sharif and Bamyan. His job was to gather intelligence. “It was one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to in my life with some of the most beautiful people I have ever associated with in my life.” “Their biggest message to me was, ‘don’t ever leave us’.” Stew estimated 10% to 15% of the Afghani’s didn’t want the US in their country. These people were involved with the opium trade, terrorists, or the people with the guns. “The Taliban was so cruel and so violent to the people in the small towns. The Afghani’s liked the peace and stability the US brought to the area.” Most of the details of this deployment are classified.
“We in the western culture are into immediate gratification and planning for our long term future. They are worried about the next day and whether they can feed their families. They don’t have tv and they don’t run to the grocery store for milk and bread. They save their goat dung, dry it out and put their handprint in it. That becomes a fuel source and how they cook their food.” Small town Afghanistan may not be too dissimilar to small town USA in terms of basic human concerns.
Stew talked about building trust and how “everything was done over a meal and not to eat is considered disrespectful. That meant Stew ate a lot of goat and dates, smoked lots of Marlboro Reds and drank a lot of Lipton Tea, which was a favorite of the Afghani’s. Five months later Stew went back to Australia and served out his last year and was promoted to Lt Colonel. He did his job so well the Australian Army offered Stew a commission in the Australian Army as a Helicopter pilot. Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Stew and his family came back to California and was promoted to Executive Officer of the training squadron, HMMT 164. After about a year he was asked to be on the Wing Staff in Iraq, but Stew turned it down to make sure his family had a stable environment. In April 2008, Stew moved to Norfolk, VA to a position on the Air Staff of Marine Corps Command. Stew was considered for a Commanding Officers assignment but was put on the alternate list and was told to be ready to relocate anywhere there is a commanding officer opening. As luck would have it, there was an unexpected opening in Norfolk. Stew took command of Squadron HMM 774. This was a reserve squadron that came in one weekend every month. Stew had now achieved the two goals he set out for himself when he joined the Corps; become a commanding officer of a helicopter squadron and reach the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Stew quickly assessed that his unit of reserve Marines was severely underperforming. Early on Stew demand they act and perform like Marines. Slowly the unit started to turnaround and eventually reached the point where Stew was able to have a talk with his Marines and ask what they wanted to accomplish as Marine Reservists. The answer was they wanted to be true Marines. Stew created an environment for that to happen. They did unit PT (physical training), spent time at the rifle and pistol range, did Marine Corp Instruction and more. Stew ended up with a very happy unit and they were the top squadron in the wing. HMM 774 had the Marine of the Year and for six straight quarters had Marine of the Quarter. “They were killing it. I loved every minute of it.” “I learned early on that if you take care of your Marines, they will take care of you. I treated them like family.”
After his two-year stint was up, Stew was required to give up command of the unit much to his dismay. His next assignment was in the War College of the Marine Corp. After a less than fulfilling experience Stew retired 5/31/2014. “I’ve missed it every day since then. I’d go back and do everything I could do for them. I loved being a Marine.”
“I did everything the Marine Corp asked of me and I achieved the goals I wanted to achieve. I can look back on it and I have no regrets.”
“The Marine Corps was the best thing I ever did in my life, except for marrying the women I have been married to for 32 years.”
Thank you Stew for spending so much time away from your family, for all the goat and dates you ate and for the sacrifices you and your family made. There are a lot of Marines and Americans that are thankful for your service.