Sergeant Major Gates was born on 14 July, 1984 in Fort Worth, Texas and entered the Marine Corps on 30 July, 2002. He underwent recruit training at MCRD San Diego where he was meritoriously promoted to Private First Class upon graduation.
PFC Gates reported to the School of Infantry for Marine Combat Training in November of 2002. Upon graduation, he reported to the Marine Corps Communications Electronics School in 29 Palms, California for MOS training. PFC Gates was promoted to Lance Corporal during this time, graduating in September of 2004 with orders to Okinawa, Japan.
Lance Corporal Gates served with Electronics Maintenance Company, 3rd Maintenance Battalion, 3D Force Service Support Group (FSSG) where he was assigned as the High Frequency (HF) Section Head until September of 2004. During his tour in Okinawa, Lance Corporal Gates deployed to Thailand in support of Operation Cobra Gold.
In September of 2004 Lance Corporal Gates was reassigned to Reparable Management Company, 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st FSSG in Camp Pendleton, California where he served as an HF technician and micro-miniature circuit card repairman. Lance Corporal Gates earned the rank of Corporal in April of 2005.
In February of 2006 Corporal Gates deployed to Iraq as an Individual Augment to Company B, 2nd MP Battalion. Here, he served as a Team Leader with 2nd Squad, leading route clearance and convoy security missions throughout the Al Anbar Province. Corporal Gates was promoted to Sergeant in September of 2006. Sergeant Gates remained in country to serve with his parent command, holding the billet of Organics Chief, leaving Iraq in March of 2007.
In March of 2008, Sergeant Gates checked into Marine Security Guard (MSG) School, graduating as the class Honor Graduate for Class 3-08. During his tour as an MSG, Sergeant Gates was posted in Beijing, China and Bucharest, Romania. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant in March of 2010 before reporting back to the MSG school house as part of the Instructor Advisor Staff.
Having completed his special duty assignment in May of 2011, Staff Sergeant Gates transitioned to 29 Palms, California for further MOS instruction including the Advanced Electronics Course, where he graduated as the class Honor Graduate, and Electronics Technician Course, where he finished as a Distinguished Graduate. In April of 2012 he reported into 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines to assume duties as the Communications Maintenance Chief, completing two deployments as the Battalion Landing Team (BLT) attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Okinawa, Japan.
Staff Sergeant Gates then moved East, arriving at Chemical Biological Incident Response Force in Indian Head, Maryland in September of 2015. While here, he was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant and served as the Communications Maintenance Chief and H&S Company Gunnery Sergeant. Gunnery Sergeant Gates deployed with the unit for several special security events including the Nuclear Security Summit, both Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and the 2017 Presidential Inauguration.
In January of 2018, Gunnery Sergeant Gates reported for duty to the Human Performance Branch within Training and Education Command. Gunnery Sergeant Gates attended the Force Fitness Instructor course, graduating as the class Honor Graduate and Gung Ho Award recipient. During this tour, he held the billet of Lead Inspector of the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Program (MCPFP) and assisted the Inspector General of the Marine Corps in the Unit and Command Inspection Programs.
Gunnery Sergeant Gates was frocked to First Sergeant on 28 May, 2020 and reassigned to the billet of Region First Sergeant for Region Six, Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (MCESG), Johannesburg, South Africa. During his tour with MCESG, First Sergeant Gates managed manpower assignments and personnel movement for 21 countries throughout Southern and Eastern Africa. First Sergeant Gates briefly transitioned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion in Okinawa, Japan before being promoted to Sergeant Major and assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 12.
Sergeant Major Gates' personal decorations include the Navy Commendation Medal with two gold stars, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon. He holds a Baccalaureate in Human Performance from Penn West University and a Master's degree in Transformational Leadership from the University of Maryland.