Richard R. Neely is a United States Air Force officer and the 40th Adjutant general of Illinois.

Neely was appointed the 40th Illinois Adjutant General by Governor J.

[1][2][3] Neely's prior assignment was Air National Guard principal deputy director for operations and deputy director for cyber and space operations at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

[1][3] Neely began his career as an enlisted Soldier in the Army Reserves and later joined the Air National Guard as an Airman.

[3] On 18 November 2020, Neely was nominated for federal recognition and United States Senate confirmation of his promotion to major general[4] by Governor Pritzker on 1 October 2020.