Sergeant Major Richard D. Thresher  is the former Command Senior Enlisted Leader, United States Africa Command; he assumed the position on Feb. 28, 2020. Prior to joining AFRICOM, he served as the II Marine Expeditionary Force Sergeant Major.

Sergeant Major Thresher enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1990 and became an artilleryman. He is a graduate of the Marine Corps Staff Non-commissioned Officer Academy and the Joint Forces Staff College and has completed other professional military courses. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree from American Military University and a graduate-level certificate from East Carolina University.

Sergeant Major Thresher has served at various levels in the Marine Corps, including as the Sergeant Major, 2d Radio Battalion (Signals Intelligence); Sergeant Major, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division; Sergeant Major, Headquarters Battalion, 3d Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force; Sergeant Major Installations, Camp Courtney and McTureous, Marine Corps Bases in Okinawa, Japan; Sergeant Major, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force; and Sergeant Major, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing. He also served as a drill instructor and senior drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and as a sergeant instructor and first sergeant at the Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va.

His deployments include: Desert Shield/Saber/Storm 1990-91 (Kuwait); Operation Sea Angel 1990 (Bangladesh); Joint Task Force-6 Counter Narcotics-Santa Monica, CA 1992 / Texas 1993; Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 2003 / OIF 04-06, 2005 / OIF 5-7/681, 2006-07; Combined Arms Exercise (x5) Twenty-nine Palms; Unit Deployment 1992 (Okinawa, Japan); Bridgeport (Cold Weather x 2 California); Maritime Combined Operations Training (MARCOT) 1997 (Nova Scotia / New Foundland; Battle Griffin 1997(Norway); Jungle Training 2008 (Brunei); Balikitan 2011 (Philippines); Ulchi Freedom Guardian-UFG (x3) 2010-2012 (Okinawa); Dawn Blitz, 2d MEB, Camp Pendleton, California (2013); Noncommissioned Officer Development 2014 (Taiwan); MEFEX 1 MEF (2015); MEFEX, 11 MEF (2015); WINGEX (2015); Navy Large Scale Exercise, Camp Lejeune, NC (2017); and Trident Juncture, NATO Exercise, Norway (2018).

Sergeant Major Thresher has been awarded the Legion of Merit, four times of the Meritorious Service Medal, four times of the Navy and Marine Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon.