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Faculty Profile

By Dr. Cameron McCoy
Dr. Cameron McCoy is a native of Washington, D.C. and teaches courses in 20th and 21st century
U.S. history. Dr. McCoy has taught at the United States Mili-
tary Academy at West Point, Brigham Young University, and
currently in residence at the United States Air Force Academy.
His upcoming manuscript, tentatively titled, Contested Valor:
African American Marines in the Age of Power, Protest, and Token-
ism (University Press of Kansas, projected publication 2022),
chronicles the lives and experiences of many of the first Afri-
can American Marines during their military service in the
American South and abroad from 1945 to 1975. His work is
distinctive because it examines the limitations of military inte-
gration and the critical failure of leadership on the part of
many Washington and Marine officials during the Cold War
era, which led to distinct forms and practices of systemic rac-
ism. He also focuses on rare aspects of military life during this
period: the psychological effects of institutionalized racism and the emergent Black Power and Civil
Rights movements, which served as a significant catalyst for several 21st century cultural diversity
programs in the Marine Corps. He earned his doctorate in U.S. history at the University of Texas at
Austin after receiving a master’s in military history at Texas A&M University, and his bachelor’s in
International & Area Studies at BYU.

In addition to being an assistant professor and teaching courses on U.S. Race Relations, the Great
Wars, Modern Warfare Studies, and Foreign Policy, Dr. McCoy also serves in the Marine Corps Re-
serve as an infantry officer. He currently holds and has held several positions of command while
serving multiple combat tours and deployed to various countries in support of Operations IRAQI
FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM, ULCHI FREEDOM GUARDIAN, KEY RESOLVE,
and the combined field training exercise Foal Eagle (Seoul, Korea).

In his duties as a Marine Reservist, as he balances life as an assistant professor at USAFA, Dr.
McCoy has served as Commanding Officer, Headquarters and Service Company and Company C,
4th Recon Battalion, San Antonio, Texas; field historian for the Marine Corps History Division and
the National Museum of the Marine Corps, during which time, he deployed in support of SP-
MAGTF-CRA. Dr, McCoy later served as a strategic planner for the Joint Enabling Capabilities
Command (JECC), USTRANSCOM, Norfolk, Virginia where he participated in multiple exercises,
mission tailored packages, and real-world missions in support of USINDOPACOM, EUCOM, and
USSOUTHCOM.