Colonel Richard M. Johnson was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 50-67, 31 August 1967. His first duty assignment was as Platoon Leader, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry (Airborne/Mechanized), 8th Infantry Division, Wiesbaden, Germany. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Platoon Leader/Operations Officer, 173rd Air Assault Helicopter Company, Lai Khe, South Vietnam; Deputy/G3 Operations Officer, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Company Commander, 2/502 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Instructor Pilot, 117th Assault Helicopter Company, Camp Stanley, South Korea; Instructor Pilot/ Flight Operations Officer, 25th Aviation Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Battalion Operations Officer, Company Commander, Brigade Logistics Officer, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Brigade Operations Officer, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Stanley, South Korea; Staff Officer, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia; Commander, 5th Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Camp Eagle, Commander, 4th Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Camp Page, South Korea; Directorate Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security, Army Aviation Center and School, Fort Rucker, Alabama; Commandant, Warrant Officer Career Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama.