DISTRICT 1
Noel Campbell’s entire career has been spent in service to his country and community: first as a Navy Commander, then as a U.S. Customs agent fighting the drug cartels, as a tanker pilot fighting fires for the U.S. Forest Service, and lastly as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives. In Noel’s years of service, he learned the values of teamwork and cooperation, and takes these qualities with him wherever life leads.
Noel grew up in Phoenix, Arizona in a family of law enforcement officers. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School and later attended Arizona State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business in 1965. Campbell was fortunate to spend his third year of college at the National University of Mexico where he fell in love with Mexican culture and learned to speak and write fluent Spanish.
A year after Campbell graduated from college, in the height of the Vietnam War, he volunteered for Naval Flight Training. Noel received his Wings of Gold after completing his aircraft carrier landing phase in March, 1968. In response to the needs of the Navy and the direction of the war, Noel volunteered for helicopter training and learned to fly the UH-1B Helicopter Gunship. He joined his squadron, the Seawolves, and spent a year in the Mekong Delta flying close-contact air support for the Navy Seals, PBR Riverine Forces, and Army Special Forces. After his tour in Vietnam, Campbell remained on active duty until 1971. At the end of the first Gulf War in 1991, Noel retired from the Naval Reserves as a Commander (05).
After retiring from the Navy, Noel began work as an agent for the U.S. Customs Service/Department of the Treasury. For over ten years he worked with Mexico, and in Central and South America combating the illegal drug trade infiltrating our country. Noel also worked along the borders in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California in cooperation with the Border Patrol, ATF, and the Department of Immigration. Also during this time, he served at the Pentagon as the Customs Liaison in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is here Noel received his first exposure to politics when the military joined the drug war. Campbell ended his exciting career with the Customs Service upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 57.
In 1999 Noel began fighting forest fires as a tanker pilot, air attack pilot, and helicopter pilot for the U.S. Forest Service. In this position he learned a great deal about our natural resources and how to protect them, including forest stewardship which can both prevent wildfires and create jobs.
Noel and his wife, Mary Beth, along with their Tibetan Terriers, live in Prescott because they love the area, its history, and its natural beauty. They have the great fortune to live in a historic home listed in the National Register. They also own a small business in town. Continued service to their Prescott area community keeps this couple both busy and mindful of their strong responsibility to all residents. Noel and Mary Beth live to serve, and he looks forward to the opportunity to continue his good work in the State Senate.