Lieutenant Kinlein is a Strategic Sealift Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and holds a Merchant Mariner's Credential of Unlimited Master (Oceans) with an endorsement as a first class pilot. As a civilian, he works as a bay and harbor pilot and formerly sailed as a deep-sea Merchant Marine officer. Before direct commissioning in 2017, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve watercraft community and as an active-duty Coastguardsman. LT Kinlein is a 2000 graduate of Maine Maritime Academy.
