Gabriel McKern was born in Cusco, Peru. He immigrated to the United States at three years old and was raised in John Day, Oregon. Gabriel graduated from Eastern Oregon University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He was commissioned into the U.S. Army through ROTC and completed the Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course in 2015 at Fort Moore, GA. As an Infantry Officer, Gabriel served as a Platoon Leader and a Plans Officer in the 82nd Airborne Division and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Resolute Support in 2017. Following his time in Afghanistan, Gabriel was assessed and selected for the Civil Affairs Qualification Course with Basic Special Operations Language Training in French, completed in 2021 at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Fort Liberty, NC. Gabriel then served in the U.S. Army's only active-duty Civil Affairs Brigade in U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). Gabriel is now a student in Georgetown University's dual Master in Public Policy and Masters of Science in Foreign Service program.