[3] From Richmond, Virginia, Richard Milo Clark[4] graduated from Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School, where he was an All-Metro offensive lineman in football and also stood out in track and field.

Originally committed to play at William & Mary in Williamsburg, he took an interest in the United States Air Force Academy during his senior year,[5] was accepted, and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Management.

[9][10] In 1991, Clark was named a distinguished graduate from Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base and, in 1994, he received a Master of Arts in human resource development at Webster University.

[1] In 1996, he attended the USAF Weapons School, then at Ellsworth AFB, and in 1998 he was again a distinguished graduate at the Naval War College and married his wife, Amy, shortly after.

[1] In July 2020, U.S. president Donald Trump nominated Clark to become the next Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, succeeding Jay Silveria.