Born in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 1, 1945, Dickinson graduated from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a commission as a Second Lieutenant through the school's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

He went on to serve in a series of important command and staff positions, to include: Commander, C Company, 704th Maintenance Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) Fort Carson, Colorado; Maintenance Officer, Materiel Support Branch, J-4 (Logistics), Combined Forces Command/United States Forces - Korea; and Chief, Supply Systems Branch, Combat Development Directorate, U.S. Army Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Virginia.

From 1993 to 1994, Dickinson served as Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

He also championed the force modernization necessary to support these new concepts and organizations, most notably by securing funds for the Forward Repair System.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army.