Laura J. Richardson
| Laura J. Richardson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lt. General Laura J. Richardson | |
| Allegiance |
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| Service/ |
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| Years of service | 1986–present |
| Rank |
 |
| Unit | United States Army Forces Command |
| Commands held |
Operational Test Command, Fort Hood Army garrison, Fort Myer 5th battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment |
| Battles/wars |
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Awards |
Defense Superior Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (4) |
| Relations | Lieutenant General Jim Richardson (husband) |
Laura J. Richardson is a lieutenant general in the United States Army. As an army aviator, Richardson flew Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Promoted to brigadier general in 2011, she served in various commands at Fort Hood and served as chief of staff for communication in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. In June 2017, she was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed deputy commander of the United States Army Forces Command.
Early life
Laura J. Richardson is from Colorado. She attended Metropolitan State College in Denver where she earned a bachelor of science degree in psychology.[1][2][3] She was an All American swimmer and earned her pilot's license at the age of 16.[1] Richardson was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.[3]
Junior and field officer career
Richardson was commissioned into the United States Army Aviation Branch in 1986 as a second lieutenant.[1] Richardson flew Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the 128th Assault Helicopter Company.[2][3] She was promoted to first lieutenant in 1988 and subsequently was administrative officer, executive officer and platoon leader in the 1st battalion of the 501st Aviation Regiment.[3] She transferred to the 17th Aviation Brigade as an assistant logistics officer in 1989 and served in South Korea before returning to the 501st Aviation Regiment as a personnel officer in the 4th battalion in 1990.[1][3] Richardson commanded the HQ company of the 4th battalion from September 1990 to September 1991, being promoted to captain in March 1991.[3]
Richardson attended the Aviation Officer Advanced Course at Fort Rucker in 1991–1992 and was made a company commander in the 1st Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in July 1992. She was later personnel officer of the 6th Cavalry Brigade at Fort Hood. In 1995–1996 she was a trainer in the Battle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth before she spent a year as a student at the Army Command and General Staff College. Promoted to major in March 1997 Richardson became operations officer and then executive officer of the 9th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.[3]
Richardson served as a military aide to Vice President Al Gore between February 1999 and January 2001. That year she was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and became deputy operations officer of the 101st Airborne Division. From July 2002 to May 2004 Richardson was commander of the 5th battalion of the 101st Aviation Regiment and served with that unit on Operation Iraqi Freedom. During that time, she was featured on the cover of the March 24, 2003 edition of Time magazine.[4] She and her husband and their daughter were the subjects of a story by Nancy Gibbs titled "An American Family Goes to War", in which they were described as "...the first husband and wife battalion commanders in the new married-with-children military".[5] She was Army campaign planner with the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans from 2004 to 2006 and graduated with a master of science degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair in June 2007. Promoted to colonel she was commander of the Army garrison at Fort Myer until October 2009 when she was chief of the US Senate liaison division for the Secretary of the Army.[3]
General officer career
In July 2011, Richardson was promoted to brigadier general and appointed commanding general of the Operational Test Command at Fort Hood.[3] She was subsequently appointed commanding general of support for the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, a position she left in 2013 to become deputy chief of staff, communication for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.[2][6] Richardson returned to the United States after a year and became chief legislative liaison to the Office of the Secretary of the Army.[6]
In June 2017, Richardson was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed deputy commander of the United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), replacing Lieutenant General Patrick J. Donahue II who was retiring.[2] She was appointed by FORSCOM commander General Robert B. Abrams who said the decision took "less than a second".[1] This was despite never having worked with Richardson; Abrams said "I know her reputation. I’ve seen her work... She’s the exact right leader at the exact right time".[1] Her appointment was confirmed by the US Senate and she became the first woman to hold the position officially, Major General Jody Daniels holding it for the week prior to Richardson's appointment on a temporary basis only.[2] FORSCOM is the largest command in the US Army representing 770,000 soldiers and civilians including 200,000 regular army soldiers stationed in the United States and the entire National Guard and Army Reserve.[1]
Personal life
Richardson is married to Major General James Richardson.[1][7] They have one daughter.[7]
Awards and decorations[3]
  |
Defense Superior Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster |
 |
Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters |
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Bronze Star |
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Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters |
  |
Air Medal with bronze award numeral 7 |
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Joint Service Commendation Medal |
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Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster |
 |
Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters |
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Meritorious Unit Commendation with two oak leaf clusters |
 |
Superior Unit Award with oak leaf cluster |
  |
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
 |
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star |
 |
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal |
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Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
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Korea Defense Service Medal |
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Humanitarian Service Medal |
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Army Service Ribbon |
  |
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 3 |
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NATO Medal for service with ISAF |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Brooks, Drew. "Forces Command welcomes Richardson to Fort Bragg as new deputy commanding general". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Brooks, Drew (11 June 2017). "Senate OKs First Female Army Officer To Become Forces Command Deputy". Task & Purpose. Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Frocked Brigadier General Laura J. Richardson" (PDF). US Army. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ↑ "When Mom Goes to War". Time (Vol. 161 no. 12). March 24, 2003. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ↑ Gibbs, Nancy (March 24, 2003). "An American Family Goes To War". Time. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- 1 2 Thayer, Rose L (21 May 2014). "'Team Richardson' leaves lasting mark on Fort Hood". The Killeen Daily Herald. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- 1 2 "Major General Jim Richardson, Commanding General, AMCOM".