Rich was brought up in Bristol, PA. and attended Delhaas High School where he as awarded the "D" award as the Outstanding Boy Leader,
Rich spent one year studying Engineering at Trenton Junior College before being awarded a full Naval ROTC scholarship to the University of Louisville.
Entering a five-year curriculum in Electrical Engineering, Rich was the Commander of the Battalion of Midshipmen at Louisville's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit.
Graduating in 1970 with Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Electrical Engineering, the was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy.
Rich spent the next 26 years in the Navy. while in the Navy, he attended the Naval War College and was awarded a Master's Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.
He spent over 20 year on five nuclear-powered submarines and commanded the USS Seawolf (SSN575) and USS Pintado (SSN672). He was the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for U.S. Sixth Fleet and completed his active duty career as the Senior Military Officer and Chief of Joint Operations for the Secretary of Defense's Office of Inspector General.
After retiring from the Navy, Rich accepted a position with at Dynamic Systems, Inc. in Alexandria VA at the Manager of Technical Support for Navy Undersea Weapons Programs. Dynamic Systems was acquired by EDO Corporation and Rich Served as the Director of Undersea Warfare Program.
Rich is not the Vice President for Corporate Development for Systems Engineering Associates Corp. (SEA CORP) in Middletown, RI.