Colonel Richard B. O’Connor, USA, is currently serving as Deputy Chief, Distribution Division, J-4 (Logistics), Joint Staff, in the Pentagon.

Following his high school graduation in 1976, he joined the Army as a helicopter crew chief. He was first assigned to the 4/7 Cavalry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, in South Korea, and then to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). When he completed his active duty enlistment in the summer of 1979, he joined the Army National Guard and used his G.I. Bill benefits to attend Northeastern University, where he participated in the ROTC program. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he was commissioned as an Army officer and began the second phase of his military career. Over the past 23 years, he has served in various command and staff assignments. He has also deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

Colonel O’Connor is also a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School and a recent graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University.