Rear Admiral Tom Dickinson, a native of Whitehall, MI, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.  He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree in 2006 from the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, CA, where he graduated with distinction as a Conrad Scholar.

He qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) in 1997. Additional operational assignments include Operations Officer aboard USS Champion (MCM 4); Weapons Officer and Combat Systems Officer aboard USS The Sullivans (DDG 68); and Executive Officer and Commanding Officer aboard USS Barry (DDG 52). During his command tour, USS Barry completed a nine-month Ballistic Missile Defense deployment in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and earned the Battle “E.”

Ashore assignments include Surface Warfare Officer detailer for PERS-41 at the Navy Personnel Command; Major Defense Acquisition Program analyst in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L); and instructor at the Naval Leadership and Ethics Command in Newport, RI.

Acquisition professional assignments include Principal Assistant Program Manager for Technology Insertion in the AEGIS Program Office; Fleet Introduction Program Manager for AEGIS Ashore; Maritime Theater Missile Defense National Point of Contact; Major Program Manager for AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense Weapon Systems; and Executive Assistant for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Prior to his current assignment, Rear Admiral Dickinson served as the Principal Military Deputy and Chief Operating Officer for the Director, Surface Ship Maintenance, Modernization and Sustainment (SEA-21) and the Commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Centers.

In 2014, Rear Admiral Dickinson was awarded the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership. In 2020, he was the inaugural recipient of the Rear Admiral “Deak” Parsons Award for Program Management Excellence.