Tidal W. McCoy

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Tidal W. McCoy
Official portrait, 1984
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs)
In office 1981–1988
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Antonia Handler Chayes
Succeeded by	Karen R. Keesling
Personal details
Born	(1945-04-25) April 25, 1945 (age 80) Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Party	Republican
Alma mater	United States Military Academy (BS) George Washington University (MS)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1967–1972
Unit	2nd Battalion, 83rd Field Artillery Regiment
Commands	Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 83rd Field Artillery Regiment

Tidal W. "Ty" McCoy (born April 25, 1945) is an American venture capitalist, politician, and military officer who served as United States Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) during the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1989.^[1]

McCoy was born in Gainesville, Florida, on April 25, 1945.^[2] He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, receiving a B.S. in engineering in 1967 and an M.S. in Business Financial Management from George Washington University in 1975.^[3]

After graduating from West Point, McCoy was deployed to Germany as a battery commander of the 2nd battalion, 83rd Field Artillery Regiment, serving as the battery commander for Battery B, a nuclear artillery battery.^[4][3] He was then deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, where he held command and staff positions for a year before assignment to the Pentagon as the Chief of Intelligence on North Vietnam, providing intelligence reports to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[5]

In 1972, McCoy was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency. He served there until recalled by the Secretary of Defense for assignment to the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Defense as part of the Long Range Planning and Net Assessment Group in the Office of the United States Secretary of Defense.^[4] From 1973 to 1977, he was a staff assistant and later a deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense. During that time, he also served at the National Security Council at the White House. In 1977, he was the Scientific Advisor to Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Engineering and Systems David E. Mann. From 1979 to 1981, he was Assistant for National Security Affairs to Senator Jake Garn of Utah.^[3][4]

In April 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated McCoy to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs).^[3] The Senate Committee on Armed Services held a hearing on June 3, 1981,^[4] and McCoy was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 4, 1981.^[4][6] He held that office throughout the Reagan Administration. McCoy served as the Acting Under Secretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force for a period of time throughout the Reagan Administration.^[7]

After leaving the government service in 1989, McCoy joined Thiokol as senior vice president for government relations, where he established a government relations program that benefited Thiokol as an aerospace company within the NASA and defense contractor communities. He was a participant in the design of the Thiokol strategy for developing a new, large solid rocket motor with the capability to repel and defeat proposals for a more expensive and potentially dangerous liquid rocket motor alternative for the Space Shuttle. He led the strategy for a team where Thiokol was a major subcontractor in winning a multi-billion-dollar Minuteman ICBM Contract. ^[8]

In late 2017, McCoy co-founded the venture capital firm Iron Gate Capital Advisors,^[9] where the company closed its initial fund at US$25 Million in mid-2023^[10], and has since begun developing a second fund. Iron Gate manages both direct investments and indirect "fund of funds" investments.^[11] Upon the firm's founding, McCoy stated that its focus would be on addressing cyber warfare, in which he described as an "unprecedented threat to our national security, our economic security, our personal lives, fortunes and sacred democracy."^[12]

Since 1996, McCoy has served as the Chairman of the Space Transportation Association, whose objective is to "advance effective US transportation policy for civil, defense, and commercial markets."^[13][14] In 2014, he was awarded the STA Lifetime Achievement Award.^[15]

McCoy serves as the Vice Chairman of the Defense Forum Foundation,^[16] a U.S. non-profit foundation known for its educational forums on Capitol Hill and programs promoting freedom, democracy, and human rights.^[17][18]

Since May 2012, McCoy has served on the board of trustees for the Institute of World Politics, becoming the vice chairman in 2018. McCoy also serves as a vice chairman for the Cyber, Space & Intelligence Association.^[19][20] Since 2022, McCoy has served as a Trustee of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.^[21]

External Links - Tidal McCoy at LinkedIn [1]