Chief Warrant Officer 4
Kenneth B.N. Hill

Born February 9, 1956, in Pomona, California, Kenneth "Pete" Hill joined the Army in 1974. He first served in the 782nd Maintenance Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where, despite his junior grade, he excelled as an Automotive Technical Inspector, and then as Maintenance Control Clerk and Production Control Specialist, despite not being formally trained for those duties. From 1978 to 1981, Hill served in D Company, 112th Maintenance Battalion, supporting 1st Brigade, 3rd Armored Division, in Kirchgoens, Germany, where he organized maintenance contact teams, a forerunner of the Maintenance Support Team (MST) concept.

Hill left active duty in 1982, serving as a drilling reservist with the 330th Engineer Battalion in Pennsylvania. In 1983, he became a full-time reservist and Motor Sergeant of the battalion's C Company, winning an impressive string of maintenance awards. He was chosen to be primary instructor on the Unit Maintenance Management System (UMMS) for his battalion's higher headquarters, the 79th Army Reserve Command. In 1987, Staff Sergeant (Promotable) Hill was appointed warrant officer and assigned as Maintenance Technician for B Battery, 1/1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion in Germany. Under his leadership, the battery exceeded all standards for operational readiness rates and repair-parts stockage balances. He stepped up to Battalion Maintenance Officer in 1989, where he wrote a comprehensive maintenance standard operating procedure and instituted a training program for drivers and mechanics while also running a Transportation Motor Pool (TMP) of non-tactical vehicles supporting three battalions at remote sites.

In 1990, Hill returned to Fort Bragg to serve as Battalion Maintenance Technician for the 82nd Signal Battalion. Also serving as Unit Movement Officer, he deployed the battalion's 230 wheeled vehicles and 94 generator sets for Operation Desert Shield/Storm at a 100 percent readiness rate. Upon redeployment, Hill managed the fielding of the Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) and the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINGARS). He next served as Battalion Maintenance Technician and Service Support Platoon Leader in the 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion in Korea from 1994 to 1995, where he won the Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) Commander's Maintenance Award. Hill returned to Fort Bragg in 1995 to serve as Shop Officer and Commander of the 183rd Combat Support Detachment where he upgraded the readiness of the 3/73rd Armor Battalion's M551 Sheridans to a record 95 percent.

In 1997, he was assigned to B Company, 407th Forward Support Battalion, as Direct Support Maintenance Technician, supporting 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. From 1997 to 1999, Hill served as Senior Automotive Maintenance Officer for the 44th Medical Brigade, overseeing the maintenance program of 27 medical units. From 1999 to 2002, he served as Branch Chief, Warrant Officer Advanced Course, at the Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where he revised the warrant officer technical training. CW4 Hill retired in 2002, but continues his considerable contributions as a civilian instructor in the Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School's Command and Staff Department, where he is the recognized expert on the Army's automated maintenance management system