September 2019 Veteran of the Month: Adam Despang
From left: Attorney General Ashley Moody, Governor Ron DeSantis, FDACS Veteran of the Month for September 2019 Adam Despang, Commissioner Nikki Fried, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
Military Service
Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army. Left the military in 2017 with the rank of Captain (O-3).
Public Service
Volunteer Florida Logistics Lead for Team Rubicon, a national veterans nonprofit that provides disaster relief and debris clearing services to communities.
Biography
Adam Despang is a Master of Business Administration (MBA) candidate at the University of Florida’s Hough Graduate School of Business. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2013 and received a commission into the Army Field Artillery as a Second Lieutenant. He was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, where he was assigned to the First Armored Division. In this position, he led teams and advised commanders on how best to employ artillery fire support in a safe and efficient manner. Adam earned an Air Assault Badge in 2016 for demonstrating competency in helicopter-assisted combat operations. While he never had the opportunity to deploy while he served, Adam is proud of the work he did at Fort Bliss.
Adam was honorably discharged from the Army in December of 2017 as a Captain. Following his discharge, he began volunteering with Team Rubicon to continue giving back. His first deployment with Team Rubicon was to Beaumont, Texas, in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey hit that state. He volunteered for several Team Rubicon operations after that, spending a total of nine weeks deployed over five operations spanning the states of Florida, Texas, Nebraska and Iowa. Twenty-one of those days were spent supporting Florida families in the Panhandle after Hurricane Michael in 2018.
Due to his outstanding volunteer work, Adam joined the Team Rubicon Florida leadership team and became the Florida Logistics Lead in January 2019. In this position he manages a small team of volunteers that provide logistical support for all Florida operations, projects and training. After earning his MBA, Adam intends to pursue a career in environmental sustainability, clean energy, or disaster relief services.
