Veazey promoted to ADVA Cemeteries Division Director

Steve Veazey, a retired Command Sergeant Major with the Arkansas National Guard, has been promoted to Cemeteries Division Director for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) effective January 14, 2025.

Veazey joined ADVA in May 2023 as Assistant Director of the Veterans Service Officer Division following a long career in the Army National Guard.

“This is such an awesome honor for me to be able to lay a veteran to their final resting place and take care of their family at the same time. Who could ask for a better job than that?” Veazey said.

Veazey joined the Army National Guard in 1979 and graduated from boot camp with honors at Fort Benning, Georgia. He returned to Arkansas, where he served in every rank, beginning as a private and advancing to Command Sergeant Major.

In 2001, he deployed to Bosnia as First Sergeant, Delta Company, 1-153rd Infantry. He was promoted to Command Sergeant Major in 2003 and deployed to Iraq. In 2007, he was called upon again to serve in Iraq as the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Sergeant Major.

Veazey assumed the role of the State Command Sergeant Major for the Arkansas National Guard in 2011, overseeing the welfare of 7500 soldiers and the well-being of their dependents.

“My prior experience gives me a great toolbox for helping families with empathy and patience so I can understand their grief and frustrations,” Veazey said.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and several others.

Veazey lives in Sheridan with his wife of 43 years, Leanna. They have two kids, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He is a member of East Union Baptist Church.

Story by Mark Woodall