MOBILE, AL — The Chairman of the Mobile Bay Area Veterans Commission, Mayor Spiro Cherigottis, and the President of the Commission, Colonel Steve Carey, U.S. Air Force, Retired, are pleased to announce this year’s Patriot of the Year, Rear Admiral W. Kent Davis, United States Navy (Retired), in recognition of his extraordinary lifetime of military service, leadership, and unwavering dedication to Alabama’s veterans.

A Patriot Shaped by Service and Sacrifice

The son of a combat-wounded World War II Army veteran, Rear Admiral Davis completed nearly 31 years of active and reserve military service before retiring in 2016. His career began aboard the historic World War II battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), which was recommissioned in the 1980s and 1990s, and continued through a series of high-impact assignments across the Navy, Army, and joint military commands.

Davis served at:

  Naval Air Station Atlanta

  The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN‑72)

  Multiple locations within the U.S. Navy Office of Information

  U.S. Central Command Headquarters in Tampa

  U.S. Joint Forces Headquarters in Norfolk

  The U.S. Sixth Fleet in Italy

  The Pentagon

In the 1990s, he completed an interservice transfer to the U.S. Army, where he served as a military attorney at the rank of Major. He later deployed for extended ground tours during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006 and 2012, contributing directly to combat-zone operations and strategic communications.

He retired as the Navy’s Vice Chief of Information, capping a career defined by leadership, integrity, and service at the highest levels of the U.S. military.

A Leader for Alabama’s Veterans

After retiring from the military, Davis continued his service as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, leading the state’s veteran programs for more than five years and supporting Alabama’s more than 400,000 military veterans. His tenure strengthened statewide outreach, modernized operations, and expanded support for Alabama’s veteran community.

For the past year he has served as CEO of Vets Recover in Mobile.

His civilian career also includes:

• Director of Communication and Outreach, Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base
• Director of Economic Development and External Affairs, City of Anniston
• City Manager, City of Anniston
• Senior manager and attorney, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Attorney with King & Spalding in Atlanta

Across every role, Davis has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to public service, community leadership, and the well-being of those who have served. He is deeply involved in nonprofit and civic organizations, including the Rotary Club of Mobile (past President of the Montgomery Sunrise Rotary Club), the River Region Veterans Coalition (current Vice President), the South Alabama Veterans Council, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Marine Corps League, Navy League, Military Officers Association of America, the Mobile Bar Association, and others.

Education, Family, and Community Roots

A native of Montgomery, Davis also grew up in Atlanta and New Orleans. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctor (magna cum laude) from Georgia State University, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review.

He and his wife Lisa, a retired Navy veteran and former special education teacher, have been married for 37 years and reside in Montgomery. They have two adult children.

Commission Statement

“The Mobile Bay Area Veterans Commission is honored to recognize Rear Admiral Kent Davis as our Patriot of the Year,” the Commission announced. “His distinguished military career, leadership in combat and crisis, and unwavering dedication to Alabama’s veterans exemplify the highest ideals of patriotism. Admiral Davis embodies the very best of those who serve our nation.”