MEET ERIC ADEN
VOTEADEN.COM
Eric Aden is a veteran lawman who began his career in law enforcement in Okaloosa County under Sheriff Larry Gilbert in 1995 and currently serves as Operations Bureau Chief under Sheriff Larry Ashley.
Eric is uniquely qualified to serve as our next Sheriff.
Over the past 20+years, Eric has worked, mentored, supervised, and managed personnel and resources in every facet of law enforcement. As Operations Bureau Chief, he oversees the Uniformed Patrol Division, Auxiliary Deputies, District Captains, and Watch Commanders, as well as, Airport Security for the county’s three airports.
Day in and day out, Eric works side-by-side with Sheriff Larry Ashley to keep our community safe and our Sheriff’s Office among Florida’s best.
Eric is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of each of us living in, visiting, or traveling through Okaloosa County. He responds to both routine and critical incidents and manages nearly 200 of the agency’s sworn personnel.
A lifelong Republican and committed family man, Eric is a native of Okaloosa County, attended our public schools and graduated from Choctawhatchee High School. A firm believer in giving back, Eric has touched the lives of people of all ages and walks of life and is strengthening our community through public service and civic involvement.
Eric is Past President of the Okaloosa Republican Club, and a board member of such civic organizations as Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC), Horizons Foundation/ARC of the Emerald Coast, and Northwest Florida State College Foundation. He served as Loaned Executive of the Year for the United Way (2014) and earned the distinction of being named Honorary Commander of Hurlbert Field (2015).
A former School Resource Officer, Eric recognizes the critical role SROs perform in protecting our children and their teachers.
Eric Aden is a no-nonsense fighter of crime and powerful adversary of those who go about committing them. In the same way, he is a staunch ally of those who seek law and order and demand fairness and justice in law enforcement.
Eric strongly supports our Second Amendment rights and right to carry in Florida.
A proven fiscal conservative who oversees large budgets of public funds, Eric has a 10-year background in banking and finance in addition to his experience in public safety.
Eric has five children ranging in age from four to 17 years. He and his wife, Mandy, live with their family in Shalimar. He is a Member and Councilman of Shalimar United Methodist Church.
WORK HISTORY
Major Eric Aden is the Operations Bureau Chief for the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. He began his career as a deputy in 1995 where he patrolled the southern portion of Okaloosa County and was a School Resource Officer.
In 1998, he went to part-time status to pursue a career in the private sector in banking and finance.
In 2008, Eric was recruited for a leadership position with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office where he served under Sheriff Mike Adkinson was quickly promoted to Lieutenant over Judicial Services, Civil Process, Warrants, Court Security and Team Leader for the U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force.
In 2010, he was again hand-selected to a leadership position with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office to oversee Judicial Services/Court Security, Booking and Detention. He later led Criminal Investigations, Evidence, Crime Scene, and Criminal Analysts until he was reassigned as a Watch/Patrol Commander.
In early 2017, Eric was promoted to Captain to lead all Watch Commanders, Part Time/Reserve Deputies, Airport Security Unit and Posse Liaison. He was promoted to Major over Operations in late 2018 where he currently serves as Bureau Chief.
EDUCATION
· 1990 Choctawhatchee High School, Fort Walton Beach, FL
· 1994 Bachelor of Science Criminology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
· 1994 Law Enforcement Academy, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, FL
· 2012 Florida Senior Leadership Program, Class #15, CJEI, Tallahassee, FL
· 2016 FDLE Executive Leadership Seminar, Class #4, Tallahassee, FL
· 2018 Candidate University, Supervisor of Election, Okaloosa County, FL
· 2019 Completed FBI National Academy Session 276 Graduate Certificate in
Criminal Justice Education through the University of Virginia
ASSIGNMENTS
· 1995 – 1997 Patrol Deputy, Operations Bureau
· 1997 – 1998 School Resource Officer, Operations Bureau
· 1998 – 2003 Part-time Deputy Status, Operations Bureau
· 1998 – 2008 Mortgage Banking and Finance
· 2008 – 2010 Sergeant then Lieutenant, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Court Security & U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force, Special Operations Bureau
· 2010 – 2014 Lieutenant, Judicial Services, Administration Bureau
· 2014 – 2016 Lieutenant, Criminal Investigations Section, Investigations Bureau
· 2016 – 2017 Lieutenant, Watch Commander, Operations Bureau
· 2017 – 2018 Captain, Operations Bureau
· 2018 – Major, Operations Bureau Chief
COMMUNITY AND CIVIC RECOGNITION
· Loaned Executive of the Year (2014), United Way
· Honorary Commander (2015), Hurlburt Field, Air Force Base, FL
· Completed the FBI National Academy Session 276 Spring 2019
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
· Member and Councilman, Shalimar United Methodist Church (SUMC), Shalimar, FL
· Member SUMC Security Ministry Team
· Loaned Executive/Volunteer United Way
· Past Board Member, Kiwanis Club
· Past President and Secretary, Current Member, Okaloosa Republican Club
· Past Member and Precinct Captain, Okaloosa County Republican Executive Committee
· Associate Member, Republican Women of Okaloosa Federated
· Board Member, Northwest Florida State College Foundation (NWFLSC)
· President, Portofino Townhome HOA
· Board Member, Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC)
· Board Member, Horizons Foundation/ARC of the Emerald Coast
· Member, All Sports Association
· Past Member, Elks Lodge No 1795
· Member, Destin BE Empowered
· Member, First Judicial Law Enforcement Association
· Selected and Attended the USAF Air War College’s 64th National Security Forum in 2017
· Member NWFLSC Finance Committee
· Member ECCAC Faith Based Committee
· Member ECCAC Finance Committee
· Member FBI National Academy Associates, Inc. (FBINAA)
· Member International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
· Member Board of Trustees Bridgeway Center
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
· Deputy - October 1995
· Sergeant - December 2008
· Lieutenant - April 2009
· Captain - March 2017
· Major-October 2018
Report View Transactions |
Monetary Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Expenditures and Distributions | |
---|---|---|---|---|
$88,750.00
|
$1,251.27
|
$3,390.00
|
||
$22,100.00
|
$250.00
|
$333.19
|
||
$23,905.00
|
$0.00
|
$1,224.80
|
||
$2,250.00
|
$574.06
|
$22.50
|
||
$7,350.00
|
$0.00
|
$3,334.76
|
||
$0.00
|
$0.00
|
$1,000.00
|
||
$1,300.00
|
$0.00
|
$8,825.00
|
||
$25.00
|
$0.00
|
$1.13
|
||
$2,950.00
|
$0.00
|
$44.35
|
||
$350.00
|
$0.00
|
$215.75
|
||
$75.00
|
$0.00
|
$12,412.00
|
||
$1,100.00
|
$0.00
|
$4.50
|
||
$0.00
|
$0.00
|
$7,622.50
|
||
$0.00
|
$0.00
|
$111,724.52
|