Rear Admiral Kenney serves as Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel ofthe Coast Guard, responsible for the delivery of all legal services in support of the Coast Guard's missions, its units and its people. He leads a dedicated, agile corps of legal professionals, including 184 military attorneys, 92 civilian attorneys and 87 legal support personnel. He was commissioned in 1981 after graduating from Officer Candidate School. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Maritime Law Journal.
Rear Admiral Kenney's other legal assignments include duty as Chief of the Office of Maritime and International Law, Washington, DC, where he was the head of the United States delegation to the International Maritime Organization's Legal Committee and an appellate judge on the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals; Executive Assistant and Chief of the Coast Guard's Office of Legal Policy and Program Development, Staff Judge Advocate, First Coast Guard District, Boston, MA; Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Office of Oceans Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Chief of the Marine Safety and Environmental Protection Law Branch in the Office of Maritime and International Law; and Assistant Legal Officer, First Coast Guard District.
Operational assignments include service as Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Pacific Area Tactical Law Enforcement Team, San Diego, CA; Officer in Charge, Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, Alameda, CA; and First Lieutenant and Operations Officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Westwind, a polar icebreaker. Extended temporary operations assignments include duty as Senior Coast Guard Officer Allied Forces Southern Europe, and in the Office of Law Enforcement, Seventh Coast Guard District, Miami, FL.
Rear Admiral Kenney's decorations include the Legion of Merit (three awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal with Operational Distinguishing Device (three awards), the Coast Guard Commendation Medal with Operational Distinguishing Device (two awards), the Coast Guard Achievement Medal and the NATO Medal. Non-military awards include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gold Medal, the Department of State Superior Honor Award, and the Department of Justice Certificate of Commendation.
Rear Admiral Kenney is a member of the bars of the State of California, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the U.S. Supreme Court.