Arizona Department of Veterans' Services

The Arizona Department of Veteran's Services represents more than 600,000 veterans living in the State if Arizona. Their mission is  to advance the interests of Arizona veterans through advocacy, legislation, service, and community relationships. For more about the department visit their webite at www.azdvs.gov.

was appointed to head the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services by Governor Janet Napolitano.  Colonel Strickland comes to the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services from serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, a 500-employee department. Colonel Strickland previously served as the Executive Director of the Department from June 1998 to August 2004, successfully working to obtain state and legislative approval and funding for four additional war veterans homes and two state veterans cemeteries in Louisiana.  
 

Colonel Strickland, who is half Choctaw-Cherokee, has also served as the Director of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs from January 1996 to August 2004, and the Executive Director of the Louisiana Troops to Teachers Program from July 1995 to June 1998, working with the Department of Education and the military to recruit retired military personnel with education degrees to be teachers in Louisiana. Colonel Strickland is also a fluent Spanish speaker.

From 1966 to September 1994, Colonel Strickland served as an Officer in the U.S. Army. He served more than 28 years as a combat arms officer for the Airborne Infantry and Armor assignments, and served two combat tours in Vietnam. In 2003, he was inducted into the Louisiana Military Hall of Honor. Colonel Strickland has a bachelor’s in political science from Hampton University in Virginia, a master’s degree in counselor education-psychology from Auburn University in Alabama (’81), and a certificate in aero space studies from Maxwell Air Force Base’s Air Force Command and General Staff College (the equivalent of a master’s degree).  Colonel Strickland is a life member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, and of the Disabled American Veterans.

Special  thanks to Donna Adams, She has donated countless hours of time and service to ensuring our veterans are cared for and served. Her tireless efforts have ensured the successful production of the annual reception and induction ceremony since the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame inception in 2001.