Richard (Ike) Ikena grew up in Niceville, Florida. He is married to the former Sarah Henry of Columbia, South Carolina and they have six children: Henry (18), Sam (16), Charles (14), Pete (12), Grace (9), and Matt (9).
Colonel Ikena is a third-generation Soldier, commissioned into the Field Artillery in 1997 through the University of West Florida R.O.T.C. program.
Colonel Ikena’s operational experiences include: serving in Fires positions from platoon leader to Fire Supporter at a CJTF-HQ level, serving in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Infantry Divisions with four combat tours in Iraq, one combat tour in Afghanistan, two tours in South Korea, and two accompanied tours in Germany. He is currently serving as the 1st Infantry Division Artillery commander at Fort Riley, Kansas since June 2021.
Colonel Ikena’s broadening assignments include: serving as a Basic Combat Training battery commander; serving as a board recorder/executive officer at the Department of Army Secretariat - U.S. Army Human Resources Command; a member of the Commander’s Initiative Group for the U.S. Army Europe Headquarters; and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon in the J7 enterprise, developing joint concepts that are threat informed to provide capability development for the Joint Force.
Colonel Ikena’s military education/schooling includes U.S. Army Airborne School, Field Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Services and Staff School, Command and General Staff College, N.A.T.O. Crisis Action Planning Course, and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.