UCA Annual Veterans Day Event will be held on November 6, 2025
Don’t miss our Veteran Information Fair, Ceremony, and Musical Guests!
Come and have the opportunity to visit with 30 organizations that support veterans, military personnel, and their families. Get information about benefits, services, assistance, and resources from federal, state, private, and nonprofit organizations.
2025 Information Fair
McCastlin Hall, UCA
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
2025 Ceremony, Scholarship Presentation, Swearing in Recruits, and Musical Guests
McCastlin Hall, UCA
Time: 1:40 – 2:30 p.m.
The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) will observe its annual Veterans Day Celebration on Thursday, November 6, 2025. The information fair will begin at 1:00 p.m., and the ceremony will start at 1:40 p.m. The event will honor the service of all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, featuring a swearing-in of recruits and live music. Refreshments will be served after the ceremony. The Veterans Information Fair offers valuable information on employment opportunities, support services, and other resources available to veterans on campus and in the community. In addition, students will be awarded scholarships during the ceremony. We encourage you to join us by attending the ceremony and becoming an exhibitor at the Information Fair event. We welcome businesses and organizations of all kinds to come out to support our local veterans by sharing information and/or showcasing their business to attendees.
Special Guest:
BRIGADIER GENERAL OLEN (CHAD) BRIDGES
Brigadier General Bridges was appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders as the
Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Military and the 55th Adjutant General of Arkansas on
August 5th, 2024.
He enlisted in the Arkansas Army National Guard in August 1991 and was commissioned in
August 1998 as a graduate of the Arkansas Military Academy Officer Candidate School, Class
41.
Brigadier General Bridges assumed command of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in
September 2021, leading a 2023-2024 deployment to Grafenwoehr, Germany to train Armed
Forces of Ukrainian Soldiers. His unit, as the Joint-Multinational Training Group – Ukraine
(JMTG-U), partnered with over 107 different U.S. and international organizations to train 7,500
Ukrainians are involved in 26 different U.S. platforms, totaling 80 different training iterations.
His other two operational deployments include commanding an infantry company during a
2004-2005 tour to Baghdad, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, and as a platoon
leader during a 2001-2002 deployment to Sinai, Egypt, in support of the Multinational Force and
Observers’ Mission after the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Brigadier General Bridges served multiple tours in the Pentagon. He was the Chief of the
National Guard Bureau’s representative on the 2022 National Defense Strategy Core
Development Team. Before that, he served as the Director of Integration and Army National
Guard Programs for the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and as the
Military Assistant for Readiness and Integration for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
Brigadier General Bridges served in various other assignments at the tactical, state, and
national levels.
He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, U.S. Army Command
and Staff College, U.S. Air Force Command and Staff College, U.S. Marine Corps Command
and Staff College, and the Joint Forces Staff College. In 2017, he completed the United States
Army War College as a distinguished graduate, obtaining a Master of Strategic Studies degree.
He is an MIT Seminar XXI fellow, a Harvard Kennedy School fellow for Leadership in
Homeland Security, and a Syracuse University Maxwell School National Security Studies fellow.
His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Defense Service Medal, the Legion of
Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, Combat and Expert Infantryman Badges, and various other
awards and badges.
2024 Information Fair Vendors
Some of the vendors already signed up for this event include:
Arkansas Dept of WorkForce Connections (Disabled Vets Outreach)
ARNG Reserve Component Transition Assistance Advisor
Cadron Post DAR
Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
Faulkner County Veterans Service Office
Gentiva Hospice
HHC 239th BEB
Jacksonville Museum of Military History
Little Rock Mobile Vet Center
Military OneSource Arkansas
Office of Congressman French Hill
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
Operation Red, White, and Brave
Quilts of Valor – Second Tour Group
Soldier and Family Readiness (Joint Service Support)
Student Veterans of America, UCA Chapter
The City of Hope Outreach
The American Legion, Theodore Campbell Post 16
We are the 22
WoodmenLife
Acxiom
CAVHS Health & Wellness Dept
Veterans Health Administration – Vocational Rehabilitation
Dept. Of Veteran Affairs Readiness & Employment
Veteran Benefit Administration
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Center (Local Recovery Coordinator)
Global Life Liberty National
UCA Army ROTC
U.S. Army Recruiter
AARP Arkansas