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NMSU ROTC established foundation for U.S. Air Force brigadier general

Neil Richardson ’95 has been stationed across the country and around the world during more than two decades in the U.S. Air Force. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in fall 2020.


The NMSU business graduate credits his NMSU Air Force ROTC experience with giving him the foundation for his successful career. He also met his wife, Melissa, at NMSU, and they have four children.


A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Richardson has commanded at every level and served combat tours in the Middle East. An Air Force navigator by trade, he flew the C-130 Hercules with assignments in Germany, Japan and Washington, D.C., among others.


Although his promotion to brigadier general is a result of 25 years of hard work and commitment, Richardson is grateful to NMSU’s Air Force ROTC cadre for giving him the skills and the confidence to be a servant leader.


“I will humbly say that they saw things in me that I would not have seen otherwise,” Richardson says. “I am eternally grateful for their instruction and the trust they displayed in allowing me to learn and grow in their leadership laboratory.”

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