Ben Strickland
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)

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Ben Strickland is a retired Coast Guard senior officer and licensed professional mariner. He currently works in the defense industry in support of naval warfare capabilities for the U.S. Navy and Allied partners. Ben Strickland previously served over 20 years in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard where he qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and executed the full range of naval warfare and marine safety/security missions.

During his naval service, Ben Strickland was assigned in a variety of executive leadership positions in mission planning and execution, force training/readiness, homeland security, industry regulatory compliance, ship new construction, and national defense policy. He has managed complex independent and multi-unit ship operations from the Australia to the Arctic, patrolled the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Bering Sea as well as Hawaii, Singapore, Japan, Africa, Central America, and the Persian Gulf. An expert in shipboard operations and capability requirements generation, Ben Strickland served onboard six Navy and Coast Guard ships, including where he was privileged to command USCGC ROANOKE ISLAND (WPB-1346) at Homer, Alaska.

A native of Issaquah, Washington, Ben Strickland is a graduate of Maine Maritime Academy. He also holds a masters degree in National Security Strategy from the U.S. Naval War College and is also a graduate of the Maritime Advanced Warfare School and a qualified Joint Operational Planner.