Ryan McKibben

Name: Ryan McKibben
City/State: Tallahassee, FL
Branch of Service: Army
Dates of Service: 9/2000 to 6/ 2010
Last Rank Held: E6
Military Occupation: 94M – Radar Repairer
Current Occupation: Policy Analyst
X: https://x.com/RyanBMcKibben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunshine_and_sledgehammer_farm/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mckibben
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Ryan outside of the military:

After leaving the military, I found healing through farming—a hands-on therapy that helped me manage PTSD and reconnect with purpose. Today, I serve as an Energy Policy Analyst for the Florida Office of Energy, where I work to advance sustainability, energy efficiency, and resilience across the state. Outside of work, I am active in my church, volunteer as a youth soccer coach, and a mentor, teaching teamwork, discipline, and confidence to the next generation. Whether in the field, the office, or on the sidelines, my focus remains on growth—personal, professional, and community-driven.

Ryan on joining the IAVA Cavalry:

I’m joining the IAVA Cavalry to stay connected with a community that understands the unique challenges of service and transition. After leaving the military, I realized how critical peer support is for healing and growth. IAVA’s mission to advocate for veterans, provide resources, and amplify our voices resonates deeply with me. Joining the Cavalry is my way of continuing service, supporting fellow veterans, and ensuring our experiences drive positive change.

How the military experience affected Ryan’s personal growth:

The ability to adapt was a key component of my service and it built resilience. When things seemed hopeless after I left the Army, I could always lean on the examples I saw throughout my career and power through, get help, and overcome – however long it takes. In the military I was taught to show up on time, in the right uniform, ready to execute my duties and that mindset has been invaluable to me as a civilian.

IAVA’s policy priorities that are the most pressing:

While I believe all of the IAVA priorities are important because repaying services for service back to the veteran has a long way to go, my top focus areas are clear. First, I strongly prioritize the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act of 2025 (H.R. 2623) because expanding access to alternative treatments is critical for veterans’ mental health and recovery and not all veterans are alike and deserve tailored service. Next, I support the Afghan Adjustment Act (H.R. 4895), along with the Fulfilling Promises to Our Afghan Allies Act (S. 2679) and the Enduring Welcome Act of 2025 (H.R. 4995), to ensure we honor commitments to those who stood beside us. These priorities reflect my belief in improving veteran care and upholding our moral obligations to allies.

IAVA’s policy priorities with the strongest personal connection for Ryan:

After the war in Afghanistan ended, my community welcomed several interpreters and their families. At that time, my parents recognized the need to aid those families and ended up housing two of those families in their home for several months and helping them find permanent housing. Although my deployments sent me to Iraq and not Afghanistan, I worked with interpreters and have always believed their immense sacrifices deserve our gratitude. I got to know the Afghan families during my visits to my parents’ home and am proud to call them my friends. They risked everything, just like my brothers and sisters in arms did, and they deserve to enjoy the freedoms we promised we would deliver that ultimately never came. The least we can do as a nation is to welcome them into our communities and ease the burden of their displacement.