Gov. Phil Bryant is appointing Mark McKee, a longtime U.S.
Secret Service agent, as Executive Director of the Mississippi Office of Homeland
Security.
McKee has served as resident agent in charge of
Mississippi for the Secret Service since 2014. He joined the Secret
Service in 1991. From 2004 to 2014, he was a supervisory special agent
in Washington, D.C., handling various investigative and protection
assignments.
McKee has nearly 30 years in law enforcement
and military service, starting with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1986, and
is an Operation Desert Storm veteran. In 2007, he served on special
assignment in Iraq, where he served as supervisory special agent with a
United States Central Command task force identifying insurgent
financiers and coordinating their targeting by U.S. Special Forces. He
also served as an interrogator of enemy combatants and terrorist
suspects.
McKee is replacing former state Homeland
Security Director Rusty Barnes. Director McKee's appointment is effective Oct. 10, 2016.
"Mark's
experience and proven leadership ability make him a perfect fit to take
the helm at MOHS," Bryant said in a written statement. "I am confident
he will serve the people of Mississippi well as he leads this critical
agency, whose mission is to safeguard Mississippians. I am delighted he
has accepted this appointment."
McKee and his wife live in Madison and have three children.