BG Richard J. Quirk Bio

BG Richard J. Quirk

Senior Defense Official/ Defense Attaché to the United Arab Emirates

BG Richard Quirk is assigned as the Senior Defense Official/ Defense Attaché (SDO/DATT) to the United Arab Emirates.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 1992. For the next nine years, he served in tactical Military Intelligence positions in the 101st Airborne Division, the 66th Military Intelligence Group, and on the staff of U.S. Fifth Corps.

In 2001, BG Quirk became a Foreign Area Officer, specializing in the Middle East. He received training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and the Foreign Service Institute’s Arabic Field School in Tunis. In 2005, he graduated from the French Joint Staff College and subsequently attended the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he obtained a master’s degree in International Public Policy.

Beginning in 2006, BG Quirk served in a series of political-military staff positions, first at U.S. European Command, then with U.S. Africa Command, and finally, with the Multi-National Forces – Iraq. In 2009, he was assigned as Chief of the U.S. Military Assistance Program in Amman, Jordan. He served from 2015 to 2016 as the SDO/DATT in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2016, he returned to Jordan for a tour as the SDO/DATT. From 2019 until 2021, BG Quirk led the North, Central, and Gulf of Guinea Regional Engagement Division at U.S. Africa Command. He is a 2014 Distinguished Graduate of the National War College and a graduate of the Joint Military Attaché School.

BG Quirk’s awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medals, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the parachutist badge, the air assault badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.