Richard King joined the Marine Corps in the late 1970s and became an infantry scout/sniper for a surveillance and target acquisitions unit. He soon found that his love of motorcycling was of use to Uncle Sam, and he was chosen to take the combat motorcycle course to become a scout/messenger, which he did during Desert Storm. He later became the motorcycle safety officer and chief combat motorcycle Instructor for Camp Pendleton. Richard credits Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training for helping him get his start in his motorcycling military career and now continues to teach people how to ride as an MSF RiderCoach in Florida.

"When I turned 16, I asked my parents for a motorcycle. I had been doing a good bit of BMX riding as a kid and felt I was ready for the big leagues.

What I got was a box of parts and a frame that promised to be a Harley-Davidson Sportster. With trial, error and a great amount of anticipation, I somehow put that bike together and got it running. For me, that old pile of parts launched my lifelong love affair with motorcycling.

In the late ‘70s, I joined the Marine Corps, A few years later, to my surprise, my riding experience turned out to be of some use to Uncle Sam. In the Marine Corps, line companies and regiments use motorcyclists as forward scouts, messengers and for special operations. When the companies and regiments are stationary, these riders are used to transport correspondence between units.

I had some amazing experiences as a scout/messenger during Desert Storm, in 1991 during the Gulf War in Iraq. Driving through the berm, defensive positions, minefields and finally into Kuwait City."