Chely McAninch (b. 1968) served in the United States Army from 1988-2008. Chely McAninch (b. 1968) served in the United States Army from 1998 through 2008 as an enlisted member and warrant officer in military intelligence.

Chely McAninch was born in Weslaco, Texas in 1968. She grew up in the United States and Mexico, finishing high school in Michigan and enlisting in the United States Army. After a delayed enlistment, she entered basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She then went to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where she received German language instruction. She then attended Advanced Individual Training at Fort Huachuca in Arizona for military intelligence training.

McAninch's first duty station was in Darmstadt, Germany, for three years, and she was there in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell, as well as during the Gulf War, though her unit was not involved in any Gulf War operations. By the end of her time in Germany, McAninch was an E-5 sergeant. From there, McAninch was assigned to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey for two years, and then to Augsburg, Germany, where she also spent two years. While in Augsburg, McAninch applied for and was accepted to Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Following Warrant Officer Candidate School, she returned to Fort Huachuca for further training. She was then assigned to Fort Drum, New York, where she managed the language program. She met and married her husband during her four years at Fort Drum, and they were jointly transferred to Darmstadt, Germany.

Her husband, as a captain, received company command at Bad Aibling Station in Bavaria, and they transferred there. McAninch and her husband were then assigned to Fort Huachuca, and then to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where McAninch was placed in an experimental position as an observer controller, which entailed considerable amounts of travel. In 2008, with twenty years of service, McAninch retired from the United States Army.