Major William J. Knies attended boot camp in 2002 aboard San Diego, California and graduated as a Private First Class. Afterward, he attended Marine Combat Training and then proceeded to “A” school in Pensacola, FL where he was promoted to Lance Corporal. Following “A” school, he attended “C” School in Oceana, Virginia and became Aircraft Electrical Systems Technician on F/A-18s in 2003. Following school, he reported to Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA(AW)) 224 aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, South Carolina.
Upon joining VMFA(AW)-224 in 2003, he deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. During the deployment, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. In 2005, he deployed to Al Asad, Iraq for Operation Enduring Freedom. Upon returning from Al Asad, he was promoted to Sergeant. In 2007, he deployed on another WESTPAC to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. After deployment, he attended Sergeant's Course in 2008 at Cherry Point, North Carolina and graduated as the Honor Graduate.
In 2008, he returned to San Diego and attended Recruiter School. Upon graduating as a distinguished graduate, he reported to 9th Marine Corps Recruiting District, Recruiting Station Milwaukee, Recruiting Sub-Station Green Bay, Permanent Contact Station Marinette, Wisconsin. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant in 2009. After graduating from University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Management in 2010, he applied for the Enlisted Commissioning Program. Upon acceptance, he reported to Officer Candidate School and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in 2011. At the completion of The Basic School in 2012, he reported to Aviation Pre-Flight Indoctrination at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola followed by flight school at NAS Whiting Field, Florida. He was designated a Naval Aviator in 2014.
After receiving his wings, he reported to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 at MCAS Pendleton, California for the AH-1Z. In 2015, he reported to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 369 and was promoted to Captain. In 2017, he reported to 7th Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California and deployed to Al Jaber, Kuwait with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command 17.1 as the Assistant Air Officer. Upon return in August 2017, he reported to HMLA-469 in MCAS Pendleton, California. He deployed to MCAS Futenma, Okinawa, Japan as the Quality Assurance Officer for Unit Deployment Program (UDP) in 2018. Following deployment, he attended Weapons and Tactics Instructor course and graduated in 2019. He deployed again with HMLA-469 in 2020, serving as the Assistant Operations Officer and was promoted to Major in November 2020.
After returning to MCAS Pendleton, Major Knies received orders to Okinawa, Japan and reported to Expeditionary Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force in December 2020 to become the Assistant Officer in Charge. While in Okinawa, Japan, he earned his Master of Science in Business Administration in 2022 from the University of Maryland Global Campus and attended the Aviation Safety Officers Course.
In August 2023, Major Knies reported to Marine Aircraft Group 39 for assignment to HMLA-267. He has served as the Assistant Operations Officer, Assistant Aircraft Maintenance Officer, and Executive Officer and deployed with the "Stingers" in 2024 for another UDP to Okinawa, Japan. Following deployment in 2025, Major Knies reported to Headquarters Squadron 39.
Major Knies is a graduate of the Expeditionary Warfare School Non-Resident Course and Command and Staff Non-Residents Course. He has flown a total of 2114 mishap-free flight hours, including 1884 mishap-free flight hours in the AH-1Z. His personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Metal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.