General Richardson entered the Army following graduation from Stephen F. Austin University. Throughout his career, General Richardson commanded tours at every level, to include brigade command in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.   In his last active duty assignment, Major General Richardson commanded the United States Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. 

As Commander of the 296^th Forward Support Battalion, General Richardson’s Soldiers helped the Brigade Combat Team achieve and maintain a 90% operational readiness rate during a very demanding rotation to the National Training Center.As Commander of the 64^th Corps Support Group.  General Richardson took command of the 64^th Corps Support Group in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). His brigade, consisting of 4 Corps Support Battalions, 26 Functional Support Companies and 9 Detachments, was responsible for providing support to all US Army, Joint, Coalition, and Iraqi National Forces consisting of over 50,000 Warriors dispersed throughout the Diyala, Salah Al-din, Nineveh, and Sulaimaniyah Provinces, an area approximately 58,000 square miles, roughly the size of the State of Georgia. He provided direct support to the 4^th Infantry Division, 3^rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2^nd Infantry Division which was the first Stryker Brigade Combat Team ever deployed in combat, numerous other US Forces and Coalition Forces from 17 different Troop Contributing Nations. General Richardson’s Soldiers provided the full array of logistics support while also overseeing huge contract execution in support of combat operations, stability and security operations, and base camp construction, simultaneously.  Perhaps, the most impressive mission he oversaw was the “swapout” of all OIF 1 forces for OIF 2 forces in a 60-day window.