Colonel David A. Smith is the Commander, 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard, South Burlington, Vermont. He is responsible for ensuring the Wing is ready to defend, execute combat operations, and sustain follow-on forces. He is entrusted with operations, readiness, training, morale and welfare, installation support, and quality of life for 1,000 personnel assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing.
Colonel Smith attended the Academy of Military Science and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1989 at which time he attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. He served within the 134th Fighter Squadron in multiple positions including the Operations Officer and Squadron Commander. In 2009, he attended the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania with a follow on assignment as the Director of Staff-Air with Joint Forces Headquarters, Vermont. His next assignment was back to the Wing in 2012 as the 158th Operations Group Commander and then in 2015 he became the 158th Fighter Wing Vice Commander until his current position.
EDUCATION
1987 Bachelor of Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
1990 Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
2005 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2010 Master of Strategic Studies, United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
2010 Joint Task Force Commander's Training Course, Colorado Springs, Colo.
ASSIGNMENTS
March 1989 - March 1990, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
March 1990 – June 1990, Fighter Lead-In Training, Holloman AFB, N.M.
June 1990 – October 1990, F-16 Replacement Training Unit, Tucson ANGB, Ariz.
October 1990 – June 1994, F-16 Alert Pilot, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt.
June 1994 – October 1995, Director of Operations, Det 1, 158 FW, Charleston AFB, S.C.
October 1995 – June 1998, Operations Scheduler, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt.
June 1998 – May 2000, Weapons and Tactics Officer, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt
December 2001 – May 2003, F-16 Alert Pilot, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt.
May 2003 – May 2005, Flight Commander, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt.
May 2005 – March 2007, Director of Operations, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt.
March 2007 – February 2009, Commander, 134 FS, Burlington, Vt.
July 2009 – June 2010, Student, United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
June 2010 – January 2012, Director of Staff – Air, JFHQ-VT, Colchester, Vt.
June 2012 – November 2015, Commander, 158 Operations Group, Burlington, Vt.
November 2015 – June 2017, Vice Commander, 158 Fighter Wing, Burlington, Vt.
June 2017 – Present, Commander, 158 Fighter Wing, Burlington, Vt.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 3,000
Aircraft Flown: F-16A/B/C/D, AT38, T38, T37
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation medal with one oak leaf cluster
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold border, one oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant: February 1989
First Lieutenant: February 1992
Captain: March 1994
Major: March 2001
Lieutenant Colonel: June 2005
Colonel: March 2011
(Current as of September 2018)