By Judy Christie 

As a 12-year-old in south Louisiana, Maj. Gen. Lenny J. Richoux, USAF (Ret), kept his eye on the sky.  

“I was inspired growing up near Naval Air Station New Orleans, playing in the street and cutting the grass, and I’d look up and watch the Navy A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 Corsair II, as well as the Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II,” he said. 

That sky-gazing, his father’s service fighting as a Marine in Korea, and a love for education sparked his 32 years of active duty service as a command pilot, with key jobs on special projects such as Operation Warp Speed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to his new role as vice president, Business Development and Strategy for Mobility, Surveillance, and Bombers for the Boeing Corp.  

Many of Richoux’s successes were born in 1983 when he was recruited for the first graduating class at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, a public boarding secondary school in Natchitoches, La., nearly 300 miles from his parents’ house. “It was literally a life-changing experience,” he said. He lived in a dorm, took a Trailways bus home for visits — and discovered his love for math and science.  

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“So many people have a calling, but there are so many distractions. I had to get into an environment in which education was the important thing and understand my passions and drives,” he said. “Everyone has a passion. So many people don’t realize it until late in life. I had to go to a little town in north central Louisiana, sit under an oak tree, and do a calculus problem to find mine.”  

The father of three grown children, Richoux relished his military career, especially connecting airmen with resources to solve problems and, with wife Michele’s help, encouraging families.

“That’s what serving ultimately meant to me,” he said. “I love flying. I’m at peace in the air. But I get the most satisfaction from working with people.” 

A graduate of Georgia Tech and the Air Command and Staff College, Richoux was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and holds master’s degrees from Air University and George Washington University. He is a MOAA member, on the executive board of the Flag and General Officer Network, and on the board of trustees for the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts Foundation (LSMSA). 

“Maj. Gen. Richoux is a beacon for LSMSA,” said Steven G. Horton, Ph.D., executive director and CEO of the school. “His presence is consistent both in-person and from afar. I’ve never reached out to him for assistance without getting a quick, positive response.”  

For Richoux, the cause is vital.

“Education is the thing that truly elevates people to achieve their ultimate goals and abilities. I encourage military members and families to seek education and training that aligns with their passions and mentor those coming up in the next generation. We all do better, fly higher, and achieve more as a team,” he said. 

Judy Christie is a writer in Colorado.