Sergeant Major of Public Affairs

SERGEANT MAJOR RICHARD L. PUCKETT
Sergeant Major of Public Affairs

Sergeant Major Richard L. Puckett became the Sergeant Major of Army Public Affairs Aug. 9, 2010.

As the Army Public Affairs' senior enlisted Soldier, Puckett advises the Chief of Army Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary of the Army, on all enlisted matters affecting the career field. Before being named the public affairs regimental sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Richard Puckett served as the public affairs sergeant major for I Corps from July 2008 to July 2010 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA.

While there, his duties include serving as the senior enlisted advisor for the 30-person installation public affairs team and installation proponent sergeant major for 75-plus public affairs Soldiers assigned to tenant organizations, public affairs units and three Stryker Brigade Combat Teams.

He recently deployed to Iraq with I Corps where he served as the Multi-National Corps-Iraq public affairs sergeant major. Puckett, a native of Bangor, MI, was born on December 26, 1968, in South Haven, MI.

He enlisted in September 1987. He has held a multitude of public affairs and leadership assignments from journalist to first sergeant of the Army's only active duty mobile public affairs detachment and as the public affairs advisor to Sergeants Major of the Army Jack Tilley and Kenneth Preston.

Among his accomplishments are serving as senior public affairs noncommissioned officer for the Task Force XXI and Army Advanced Warfighting Experiment where he helped integrate public affairs into the Army's first digital division. He wrote public affairs doctrine that was incorporated into Army and Joint doctrine. He also deployed to Kosovo, serving as the Task Force Falcon Public Affairs noncommissioned officer in charge.

His assignments include journalist, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis; writer/editor, Tropic Times, U.S. Southern Command, Panama; editor, Fort Hood Sentinel, III Corps, Fort Hood, TX; NCOIC, 13th Public Affairs Detachment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood; doctrine and materiel developer, Army Public Affairs Center, Fort Meade, MD; team leader and first sergeant, 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Fort Bragg, NC; public affairs advisor to the Sergeant Major of the Army, Pentagon, Washington DC; public affairs sergeant major, U.S. Central Command and Multi-National Corps Iraq.

His military schools include Basic Journalist Course, Newspaper Editors Course, and Intermediate Photojournalism Course at the Defense Information School. He is also a graduate of the Army Advanced Photojournalism Course at the University of South Carolina and the Department of Defense Joint Course in Communications at the University of Oklahoma. He is an honor graduate from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy Residents Course Class 55, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Excelsior University.

His significant military awards include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, five Army Meritorious Service Medals, five Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medal, seven Good Conduct Medals, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, two Humanitarian Service Medals, the Army Service Ribbon, two Overseas Service Ribbons, the NATO Medal (Kosovo), two Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, the Army Superior Unit Award and Army Staff Identification Badge.