Before entering academia at Purdue University, Professor Strickland accumulated over 41 years of Military and Airline Flight experience. As a 31-year veteran pilot of American Airlines, he currently holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with turbine jet type ratings in the FK-100, B-737, B-757, B-767, B-777, and B-787, with flight experience as Captain and First Officer in the United States/Canada/Mexico and various international locations in China, Japan, Australia, South America, India, Europe, and Africa.

Achieving the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army, Professor Strickland's 34-year military career spanned the areas of flight operations, space/satellite integration, and service in the military intelligence corps. He has held multiple commands, leadership, and staff positions in different countries, with a capstone military assignment as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans & Training for an organization with approximately 6,000 personnel and a multi-million dollar budget.

Professor Strickland's teaching experience has been as a military instructor pilot, a graduate-level military academic instructor (Command and General Staff College), also as adjunct faculty at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Austin Peay State University. Professor Strickland is a United States Air Force's National Security Space Institute and Air War College graduate.

Courses taught at Purdue University by Professor Strickland are AT574, AT487, and AT416.