Ricky Adams is a 1978 graduate of Elk City High School and was named as the Assistant Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety by Commissioner Mike Thompson effective March 1, 2011. Adams previously served in the position of Oklahoma Highway Patrol Deputy Chief before being appointed to the number 2 position at DPS.  Adams has served as a professional Law Enforcement Officer for over 31 years. He began that career with the Elk City Police Department in 1980 and then moved to the Edmond Police Department in 1983, before joining the ranks of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in 1986.

Adams is a 1986 graduate of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s 42nd Academy and a 2001 graduate of the United States Justice Department’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He began as a field Trooper assigned to Troop A’s Logan County detachment before rising though the patrol ranks and commanding operations at every level within the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Notably Adams is also a combat veteran serving with the Oklahoma Army National Guard for over 32 years. He currently holds the rank of U.S. Army Major General and is assigned as the Deputy Commanding General for National Guard Affairs, at US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Fort Monroe, Virginia.

Adams has served as the Oklahoma Assistant Adjutant General, State Land Component Commander, the Deputy Commanding General (ARNG) at Fort Sill, and the Deputy Assistant Commandant of the US Army Field Artillery School, a 2006 combat tour in Afghanistan as the Director - Police Reform Directorate Afghanistan and formerly commanded the 45th Field Artillery Brigade and 171 Field Artillery Battalion MLRS.  He has received the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medals.

Adams holds a Master’s of Strategic Studies Degree from the US Army War College, and a Bachelor from the University of Central Oklahoma. He is also a graduate of the National Security Management Course at Syracuse University and Harvard University’s Black Sea Security Program to name a few.