Colonel Richard E. Bloss was commissioned as a Infantry officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 4-83, 9 September 1983. His first duty assignment was as S3 Air with 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment (Manchu), 7th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Ord, California. | His subsequent assignments include: Rifle Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and S3 Air with 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, Fort Ord, California; S1 then Company Commander, Alpha 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, Camp Hovey, Korea; Combat Service Support then Maneuver Observer Comptroller, Operations Group, Joint Readiness Training Center, Little Rock Air Force Base and Fort Chaffee, Arkansas; Company Commander, Bravo 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), Fort Polk, Louisiana; Logistics Officer, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, then Executive Officer, 2nd Battalion, 325th ABN Infantry Regiment, 82nd ABN Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Officer in Charge Presidential Security, attached to 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Operation Uphold Democracy, Port au Prince, Haiti; Operations Officer, G3 Current Operations, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Plans Officer, U.S. European Command, ECJ5-P, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany; Director of Operations, Combined Joint Task Force Fervent Archer, Operation JOINT FORGE, Kelly Barracks, Bobligen, Germany; Branch Chief, Special Plans, U.S. European Command, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany; Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Deputy Chief, Crisis Action Team, Army G3, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; Deputy, Chief Strategic Plans Division, J5, United States Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii, Operation Unified Assistance. Team Chief, 5th Department of Border Enforcement and 8th Iraqi Army Division, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM; Brigade Commander, 162nd Infantry Training Brigade (Foreign Security Force Transition Team), Fort Polk, Louisiana; Chief of Staff, Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana. | Colonel Bloss's military awards and decorations include: Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (6 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (3 Oak Leaf Cluster), Armed Forces Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal (2), Global War on Terrorism Medal, Overseas Ribbon (4), Korea Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, UN Medal-Haiti, Joint Meritorious Unit Award (3 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Superior Unit Award, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutists Badge, Air Assault Badge, Ranger Tab, Canadian and KArizonaakhstan Jump Wings.