Governor Kay Ivey recently announced the selection of retired Rear Admiral W. Kent Davis as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. Adm. Davis was voted upon by the State Board of Veterans Affairs on Friday, January 4, 2019, and Governor Ivey officially offered him the position on January 24th.

Adm. 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. Adm. Davis 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,” Governor Ivey said. “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.”

Adm. 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 work experience includes: 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 & 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.

“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,” Adm. 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.”

Adm. Davis is an Alabama native; he and his wife, a 21-year Navy Reserve retiree, reside in Montgomery.