Richard A. Kidd

Richard A. Kidd
SMA Richard A. Kidd
Born	June 24, 1943 Morehead, Kentucky
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1962-1995
Rank	Sergeant Major of the Army
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Air Medal Special Forces Tab

Richard A. Kidd (born June 24, 1943, Morehead, Kentucky) was the ninth Sergeant Major of the Army. He was sworn in on July 2, 1991 and served until his term expired in June 1995.

His assignments include two combat tours in Vietnam (1966-67 & 1970-71) and multiple tours in Korea including 1st Sgt of B Company 1/32nd Infantry Regiment (Buccaneers) Camp Howze Korea (which was the only front line military unit approved by the US Congress at the time) and Europe. Before becoming the Sergeant Major of the Army, he was Command Sergeant Major (CSM) of I Corps & Fort Lewis, Fort Lewis, Washington. Among his other assignments, he has been Command Sergeant Major for numerous organizations,. These included CSM of the 9th Aviation Battalion; 2d Battalion 2d Infantry; Commandant, 1st Armored Division, NCO Academy, Katterbach, Germany. He returned to Fort Lewis after his tour in Germany and served consecutively as CSM of the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment; 3d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division (Motorized); and 9th Infantry Division (Motorized).

Awards and decorations

Combat Infantryman Badge

Master Parachutist Badge

Special Forces Tab

Army Staff Identification Badge

Expert Marksmanship Badge

23rd Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia

	Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
	Bronze Star Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
	Air Medal
	Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Meritorious Unit Commendation
	Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Award
	Army Good Conduct Medal with 1 gold Good Conduct Loops
	National Defense Service Medal with service star
	Vietnam Service Medal with four campaign stars
	NCO Professional Development with award numeral 4
	Army Service Ribbon
	Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 4
	Vietnam Gallantry Cross with bronze star
	Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
	Vietnam Campaign Medal

• 11 Service stripes.

Since military retirement, Kidd continues to serve the military community and has received numerous awards including the Outstanding Civilian Service Award, the 2005 Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge Medal and in 2006 he received the Doughboy Award for his outstanding contributions to the United States Army Infantry.

Retirement

In 2007, Kidd was Vice President, GEICO Field Representative Sales Management/Military Department. In 2010 Kidd retired from GEICO and lives in Virginia.

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "http://www.army.mil/leaders/sma/former/sma_bio9.html".
• The Sergeants Major of the Army, Daniel K. Elder, Center of Military History, United States Army Washington, D.C. 2003.