The Clay County Veterans’ Services Office welcomes Rich Carey as the county’s new Senior Veterans’ Services Officer. Carey served 24 years in the U.S. Army and participated in three campaigns in the Persian Gulf. When he retired, Carey worked at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office, as a field operations supervisor for the U.S. Census Bureau, and was the veteran transitions specialist/assistant director for Florida State College at Jacksonville and the University of North Florida. Carey comes to Clay County from Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs office at NAS Jacksonville, where during his time there, he was named Veterans’ Claim Examiner of the Year for the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2021-2022, Carey helped more than 1,300 veterans and filed 1,062 claims. 

Carey isn’t a stranger to Clay County. His military family upbringing took him to Rhode Island, Maine, Virginia, and finally, Orange Park, where he graduated from Orange Park High School. 

Carey earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management and Leadership. He also has an FAA Remote Pilot license, FCC Amateur Radio general license, audio production certification, and is a graduate of the 2011 Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program at Syracuse University.