Governor Kay Ivey has announced the selection of retired Rear Admiral W. Kent Davis as the new commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
Davis was recommended by a vote of the State Board of Veterans Affairs on January 4, and Ivey officially offered him the position Thursday. The appointment is effective February 19.
An Alabama native, Davis is an active duty veteran of both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy and has experience with all the military services, having served more than 30 years in uniform with over 11 years of active duty. In fact, he is one of only a few people who has served both as a field grade officer in the Army and a senior officer in the Navy.
“After serving his country in multiple branches of the military over the course of his distinguished career, Adm. Davis has proven himself as an excellent selection to serve as the next commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs,” Ivey said in a statement.
“I commend the hard work of the State Board of Veterans Affairs Search Committee for recommending our next VA leader. I know that Adm. Davis will take his broad spectrum of experience and apply it well to help the honorable men and women of Alabama who have so proudly served in uniform,” the governor added.
The admiral expressed his enthusiasm for his new role.
“I look forward to continuing to serve my country as the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. As a veteran myself, I understand the importance of providing help to the hundreds of thousands of Alabamians who have served in uniform,” Davis said. “It is an honor to have been chosen for this new post. I appreciate the confidence in me shown by Governor Ivey and the State Board of Veterans Affairs. I will work hard each day to ensure the veterans of Alabama are treated with the utmost respect and granted the care they so greatly deserve.”
Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 1985 and a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgia State University in 1998.
His experience includes serving as supply corps officer for the U.S. Navy; public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy Reserve; judge advocate for the U.S. Army; labor and employment law attorney; attorney-advisor within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; director of public affairs, U.S. Detention Operations in Afghanistan; senior legal counsel at FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston; deputy superintendent at FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness; vice chief of information, Navy Office of Information, The Pentagon; city manager for the City of Anniston; and most recently as chief communication officer/director of communication & outreach for Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.
Davis and his wife, a 21-year Navy Reserve retiree herself, reside in Montgomery.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
