Henry Gene Skeen


Major General Henry G. "Hank" Skeen was a General of the United States Army.
A native of Dale County, Alabama, Henry Gene Skeen entered the Air Force in 1949 and transferred to the United States Army in 1953, and upon completion of Officer Candidate School that year was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry. After serving as platoon leader in various Infantry and Airborne companies, he was awarded a Regular Army commission as a Quartermaster First Lieutenant in 1958.
During most of his career, General Skeen held important Quartermaster mission-related command and staff positions, including Director, Supply and Maintenance in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Secretary of General Staff, U.S. Army Computer Systems Command; and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army; and Secretary to the General Staff, U.S. Army Computer Systems Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. His important commands included Commander, U.S. Army Troop Support Command in St. Louis, Missouri; Commander, Defense Industrial Support Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Commander, Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service in Battle Creek, Michigan; Commander, 88th Supply and Service Battalion in Vietnam; Commander, Regional Support Activity, Military Region II, Vietnam; Commander, U.S. Army Logistic Evaluation Agency at New Cumberland Army Depot; and Commander, Burtonwood Army Depot in England.
General Skeen played a pivotal role in launching the Quartermaster Corps into the automation era in the 1960s and 1970s, and later lent major support to the establishment of the Army Supply Excellence Award and the Army Supply Master Plan. In 1997, he was inducted into the Quartermaster Hall of Fame.
Skeen was married to Pauline; and to Nancy Johnson Skeen at the time of his death. Amongst his grandchildren is Ryan Seacrest. General Skeen was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on February 24, 2006, with full military honors.