A Worcester resident who spent more than three decades with the city’s police department has taken command of one of the Army National Guard’s most storied divisions, assuming responsibility for approximately 15,000 soldiers stationed across the northeastern United States.
Brig. Gen. Richard P. Cipro, a veteran of the Iraq War and a member of the National Guard since 1991, assumed command of the 42nd Infantry Division during an Oct. 17 ceremony at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham, New York.
Cipro, who retired from the Worcester Police Department after more than 32 years of service, ultimately reaching the rank of sergeant, succeeds Maj. Gen. Jack James, who had commanded the division since 2024.
The appointment marks another milestone in a military career that began in Massachusetts more than three decades ago and has included deployments to Pakistan and Iraq, as well as leadership assignments within the Massachusetts National Guard.
The 42nd Infantry Division, known as the Rainbow Division, is headquartered in Troy, New York, but its units are spread across several northeastern states. Approximately 6,000 of its soldiers are based in New York.
Among the units associated with the division is the Massachusetts Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment, whose lineage dates to 1636.
Cipro’s new assignment places him in command of a formation with deep ties to Massachusetts and a history that stretches from the battlefields of World War I to more recent military operations in the Middle East.
In remarks during the change-of-command ceremony, Cipro described the appointment as a significant responsibility.
“To the Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division, it is the honor of my career to lead you, we will uphold this division’s proud legacy and meet the challenges ahead with confidence and purpose,” Cipro said, according to a New York National Guard announcement.
Maj. Gen. Ray Shields, New York’s adjutant general, welcomed Cipro to the position.
“Thank you for joining the division, we appreciate it and know you’re going to lead the division to even better heights as we move forward,” Shields said in the announcement.
Cipro enlisted in the Massachusetts Army National Guard in 1991, joining the 972nd Military Police Company. He earned his commission in 1999 through the Massachusetts Army National Guard’s regional training institute.
Over the following decades, he served in command and staff positions ranging from platoon leader to brigade commander. He also held senior leadership roles as assistant adjutant general and land component commander for the Massachusetts National Guard.
His overseas service included a deployment to Pakistan in support of military operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2002 and a deployment to Taji, Iraq, from 2009 to 2010.
He also served in Operation Noble Eagle, the homeland security mission established following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In addition to commanding the 42nd Infantry Division, Cipro serves as deputy commanding general for the National Guard with the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force-Africa, headquartered in Vicenza, Italy.
His military education includes the Army Command and General Staff College, the Naval War College and the Joint Task Force Commanders Course.
Cipro also has strong academic ties to Central Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Worcester State University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College. His additional education includes strategic studies at the Naval War College and executive education in crisis leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.
His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal, along with medals recognizing his service in Iraq and the broader war on terrorism.
The division he now leads was established in 1917, when National Guard units from 26 states were assembled into a single formation for deployment to France during World War I.
Its nickname originated with then-Col. Douglas MacArthur, who observed that the division’s geographic reach extended across the country like a rainbow.
During World War II, the division helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. Its units later responded to the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City.
In 2004, the 42nd became the first National Guard division to deploy to Iraq, marking the first mobilization of a National Guard division in 50 years, according to the New York National Guard.
The division headquarters returned to the Middle East in 2020 and again in 2025, when it commanded Task Force Spartan, a force of approximately 10,000 soldiers operating in the region.
Cipro’s predecessor, James, led the division during that deployment and will now serve as deputy commanding general of the Army Transformation and Training Command.
For Cipro, the new command represents a continuation of a career that has combined military service with public safety work in Worcester.
He and his wife, Colleen, have four children.
