Brigadier General MITCHELL D. RICHARDSON

Brig. Gen. Mitchell Richardson is the Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. He is responsible for policy, guidance and oversight for rapid global mobility air operations around the world. These functions include airfield operations, Civil Reserve Air Fleet management, air operations center functional management, nuclear operations, global force management, air expeditionary force oversight, resource and readiness review monitoring, aircrew training, aircrew standardization and evaluation, joint exercise and commander's training guidance. 

Brig. Gen. Richardson was commissioned in 1991 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He transitioned to the Air Force Reserve in 2001. Brig. Gen. Richardson has held command positions at the squadron, group and wing level. He also served at the combatant command level as the commander of the 954th Reserve Support Squadron and as chief of the United States Transportation Command Deployment Distribution Operations Center at Scott Air Force Base. 
 
He is a command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours and has logged over 700 combat hours participating in operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Prior to his current assignment, the general served as Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Concepts and Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Force Futures, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. 

EDUCATION 
1991 Bachelor of Science, Management, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. 
1996 Master of Aeronautical Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.   
1998 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 
2007 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence 
2009 Advanced Joint Professional Military Education, National Defense University, Norfolk, Va.  
2011 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence 
2013 Reserve Component National Security Course, Washington, D.C.  
2015 Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 
2015 Master of Strategic Studies, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 
2019 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Raleigh 
2019 Director of Mobility Forces Course, Air Force Expeditionary Center, Detachment 1, Hurlburt Field, Fla. 
2022 Continuous Process Improvement for Executives, Duke University, Durham, N.C. 

ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 1991– November 1992, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance Air Force Base, Okla. 
2. December 1992–May 1994, C-12F Pilot, 47th Airlift Flight, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 
3. June 1994–March 1996, C-21 Instructor and Chief of Pilot Scheduling, 47th Airlift Flight, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 
4. April 1996–November 1997, C-141 Aircraft Commander, 15th Airlift Squadron, Charleston AFB, S.C. 
5. December 1997–March 2001, C-17 Aircraft Commander, Wing Airspace Manager, 437th Operations Support Squadron, Charleston AFB, S.C.
6. April 2001–December 2010, C-17 Instructor and Flight Commander, Assistant Chief Pilot, Assistant Director of Operations, 317th Airlift Squadron, Charleston AFB, S.C.
7. January 2011–August 2011, C-17 Initial Cadre Evaluator Pilot and Assistant Director of Operations, 89th Airlift Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
8. September 2011–April 2014, Commander, 89th Airlift Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
9. May 2014–June 2014, Deputy Operations Group Commander, 445th Operations Group, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
10. July 2014–June 2015, Student, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
11. July 2015–January 2017, Commander, 954th Reserve Support Squadron, Joint Transportation Reserve Unit; Chief, U Deployment Distribution Operations Center, United States Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
12. February 2017–March 2018, Vice Commander, 512th Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, Del. 
13. April 2018– March 2020, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. 
14. April 2020–November 2021, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Va. 
15. December 2021–July 2022, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Concepts and Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Force Futures, HAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. 
16. August 2022–present, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. 

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS 
1. July 2015–January 2017, Chief, United States Transportation Command Deployment Distribution Operations Center, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., as a colonel 

FLIGHT INFORMATION 
Rating:  command pilot
Military Flight Hours:  more than 6,000
Aircraft Flown:  T-37, T-38, C-12, C-21, C-141, C-17, C-5 

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS 
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
 
Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
 
Joint Meritorious Unit Award 
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with silver oak leaf clusters  

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION 
Second Lieutenant May 29, 1991
First Lieutenant May 29, 1993
 
Captain May 29, 1995
Major May 6, 2002
Lieutenant Colonel May 6, 2009

Colonel April 1, 2015 
Brigadier General March 26, 2020 

(Current as of April 2023)