Don Richardson, Retired USAF

Major Don Richardson is a retired AC-130 Spectre Gunship navigator. He was raised in a military family, the son of an Air Force fighter pilot who flew F-4s in Vietnam. Don was born in Madrid, Spain, and during his young life lived in Washington, New Jersey, Arizona, and Holland before his family settled in San Antonio, Texas, in 1972. As a young man, Don served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in North Carolina and afterward graduated from Brigham Young University.

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In 1988, Don joined the Air Force, serving for 20 years before retiring in 2008. In 2010, he was recalled to active duty because of a shortage of personnel with his level of expertise in Special Operations navigation. He retired a second time in 2013, having served for 23 years.

 

During his military career, Don flew over 6,132 total hours. He began on the B-52 Bombers and then moved to the    

AC-130 Spectre Gunship, which he flew as a navigator for 18 years. After retiring from the military, he continued to fly as a civilian contractor, logging an additional 1,100 hours on 230 intelligence-gathering missions. Don also flew 385 combat sorties for a total of 1,788 combat hours. He deployed worldwide over 35 times to Alaska, Hawaii, Haiti, Italy, Bosnia, South Korea, Central and South America, Afghanistan, and Qatar. From 2001 through 2013, he was engaged in combat operations in Operation Enduring Freedom–Afghanistan and in classified missions to South America on more than 20 separate deployments.

 

After retiring from the military, Don continued flying in different locations around the world until 2015.

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In his personal life, Don likes to spend time outdoors whenever possible. He loves to hike, backpack, and snowboard with his family. Don enjoys golfing, and while he was in the Air Force, he took advantage of playing courses all over the world. He also has a passion for Ford Mustangs, a love he inherited from his family, who continuously owned Mustangs since he was 4 years old. He restored a 1970 Mach 1 and showed it proudly for many years.

 

Don has been married to Jami  Richardson since 1992. They have 4 children and currently reside in St. George, Utah.