Honoring Our Heroes

Rear Admiral William Kent Davis

and

Lieutenant Commander Lisa Renee Davis

Rear Admiral (RDML) William Kent Davis served 30+ years in the United States military including 10 years in the U. S. Navy, 18 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve and two years in the U.S. Army. His Navy Occupational Specialty (NOS) was Public Affairs. His medals, decorations, citations and awards were: Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two), Meritorious Service Medal (three), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, National Defense Service Medal (two), Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four), Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two), Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation (two), NATO Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (two), Navy-Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon (two), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon (with Sharpshooter “S”), Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon (with Sharpshooter “S”), and Navy Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer badge.

RDML Davis was born December 22, 1962, in Montgomery, AL, to his parents, Joe and Ruby Davis. He was reared in Montgomery, AL, Atlanta, GA, and New Orleans, L A. He graduated from De La Salle High School in New Orleans in 1981, served in the Navy Reserve for a short time while attending college, and he graduated from Louisiana State University with an B.S. Degree in Business Administration in 1985. Upon graduation, he went to the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., followed by training at the U.S. Navy Supply School in Athens, GA for six months and was commissioned as an Supply Corps Officer with the rank of Ensign in 1986.

His first assignment was serving aboard the battleship USS Missouri BB-63, stationed at Long Beach, CA, for three years where he served as Assistant Supply Officer and Gun Director Officer for the five- and 16-inch guns. He deployed to the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War for Operation Ernest Will and to the Northern Pacific off the coast of the Soviet Union in support of Cold War operations. This tour was followed by duty at the Naval Air Station, GA, as Aviation Supply Officer. Shortly after that assignment, he attended the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, MD and switched to working in Public Affairs. His first assignment in Public Affairs was serving as Assistant Public Affairs Offer at Commander, Naval Base San Francisco, and then he was assigned to the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln CVN 72 at Alameda, CA, for two years. During that sea tour, he was deployed to the Persian Gulf for Operation Southern Watch and to Somalia in support of United Nations peacekeeping missions.

In 1994, he transferred to the Navy Reserve serving at the Navy Office of Information in Atlanta, GA, and using the G.I. Bill, he received a Juris Doctor Degree from Georgia State University in 1998. He then transferred to service in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and served on active duty as an attorney at Fort McPherson, GA, for two years. Next, he transferred back to serving in the Navy Reserve and simultaneously worked as an attorney for the Atlanta, GA, law firm, King & Spalding, where he worked with cases involving labor and employment for two years. From 2003 to 2016, as a civilian, he served as a full-time attorney with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He was recalled to active Navy duty and served in Iraqi Freedom in 2006 and in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2012.

RDML Davis retired from military service in 2016, left the practice of law and was employed for two years as the City Manager of Anniston, AL. He then worked as the civilian Director of Communication and Outreach at Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, for two years. He was appointed AL Commissioner of Veterans Affairs in 2019, and in 2023, he was reappointed to serve another four years.

RDML Davis’s conclusions about his military service are: “I met some incredible people. Being able to serve my country was important. My father served in combat in WWII. I felt like I needed to give back to the country that has been so good to me. There are no friendships like those that you form in military service.” As Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, RDML Davis states, “In 2019, I thought my affiliation with the military was coming to closure, but now it is such a great thrill to work with the veterans from all of the military services.”

Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Lisa Renee Davis served 21 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Her NOS was Intelligence Officer. Her medals, decorations, awards, and citations included: Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster, National Defense Service Medal, and Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon.

LCDR Davis was born August 21, 1965, to her parents, David and Mary Jane Rogne, in Santa Barbara, CA, was reared in CA and graduated from University High School in 1983. She graduated from Long Beach State University with a B.S. Degree in Liberal Arts in 1987 followed by teacher certification in Elementary Education, and she received a Master’s Degree in Special Education from San Francisco State University in 1993. She taught for 15 years. She joined the U.S. Navy Reserve September 1, 1992, as an Ensign, and she was a Career Reservist. She was called to active duty for deployment to NATO in Naples, Italy, in 2011. She served with the Navy Sealift Command in San Francisco, CA, for two years and then with a Navy Intelligence Unit at Fort Gillem, GA, for three years. Then she served with the 6th Fleet in Marietta, GA, for four years and afterward in the Individual Ready Reserve. Her service included assignments at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, HI, Stuttgart, Germany, Garmisch, Germany, Rota, Spain and JAC Molesworth, England. She retired from military service September 1, 2013. LDCR Davis’s conclusions about her military service are, “My father was a chaplain in the Army, and I felt like I could also give back to my country.”

RDML Davis and LCDR Davis have been married 34 years, and they have two children. The are members of First Methodist Church of Montgomery. He is a member of the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, American Legion, VFW, Central-East AL Chapter of the American Red Cross Board of Directors, Disabled American Veterans, Military Officers Association of America, Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Air Force Association and Association of the U. S. Army. LCDR Lisa Davis volunteers at the Montgomery Humane Society. They enjoy hiking and going on cruises.

Their conclusions about how they would like people to remember them are: RDML Kent Davis states, “I would like people to remember that I served, but I did not let it go to my head.” LCDR Lisa Davis states, “I would like people to remember me as being a good person.”