Richard was an Australian Fulbright Scholar to Yale University where he was a Global Justice Fellow. He was the inaugural Chief of Navy Fellow and a Visiting Fellow to the Changing Character of War Centre at Pembroke College, Oxford. He holds doctorates: from the University of Western Australia and from the University of New South Wales. He is interested in the relationship between law and ethics, in public responsibility, in character, and in relationships between leadership, organisational culture, and risk. He serves in the Royal Australian Navy in the rank a commander. He has been Deputy Director at the Royal Australian Navy Sea Power Centre, and at the Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics at the Australian War College. He has taught in the areas of Military Ethics and Australian Defence Policy at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He speaks regularly to the Royal Australian Navy Command Designate Course. His recent book is Politics and the General in Supreme Command (Routledge, 2024).