Sergeant Major Steve Minyard is a native of Duncanville, Texas. He enlisted into the U.S. Army in December 1992. He completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina as a 71D Legal Specialist. His military education includes the Primary Leadership Development Course (Commandant’s List), the Advanced Leaders Course (Distinguished Honor Graduate), the Senior Leaders Course, Battle Staff NCO Course (Distinguished Honor Graduate), Reserve Component National Security Course, Civil Affairs Course, Class 67 of the Sergeants Major Course (Commandant’s List) and the Nominative Leader’s Course.

Sergeant Major Minyard is a graduate (Summa Cum Laude) of Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a graduate of American Military University with a Masters of Science in Strategic Intelligence. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Military Operations Research Society and the American Alpine Club. 

Sergeant Major Minyard has served in a variety of paralegal, leadership, and operations positions, to include Battalion Legal Specialist, 3/22 Infantry Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Task Force Legal Specialist, Multinational Force and Observers, Sinai, Egypt; Garrison Legal NCO, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Brigade Senior Legal NCO, 807th Medical Brigade, Seagoville, Texas; Training NCO, 16th Legal Operations Detachment, Grand Prairie, Texas; Reserve Component Professional Development NCO (Office of the Judge Advocate General), Washington, D.C.; Advanced Leader Course Small Group Leader, Charlottesville, Virginia; Military Legislative Assistant for Congressman Bill Owens, Washington, D.C.; Chief Paralegal NCO, U.S. Army Reserve Command, Fort Bragg, NC; Chief Paralegal NCO, 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Marysville, Washington; Deputy Commandant, Paralegal Warrior Training Course (PWTC), Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; G3/5/7 Sergeant Major, U.S. Army Reserve Legal Command, Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Command Paralegal SGM/Army Reserve Proponent Advisor, U.S. Army Reserve Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Sergeant Major Minyard’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (4 oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (6 oak leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal (4 oak leaf clusters), National Defense Service Medal (bronze star), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Overseas Training Ribbon, Multinational Force and Observers Medal, Army Staff Badge, General Ralph E. Haines Award for Research, William Bainbridge Award for Ethics, and various other awards and ribbons for service to the Army. His Ralph E. Haines research into America’s struggling defense industrial base was published in the NCO Journal in October 2019, and his original historical research led to the first comprehensive history of military legal support to the Army Reserve.