Lance L. Smith (born September 18, 1946) is a retired United States Air Force general who last served as the Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation from November 10, 2005, to November 9, 2007. A highly decorated combat veteran, the general retired from active duty on January 1, 2008.
Smith entered the United States Air Force in 1970 after graduating from Virginia Tech and completing Officer Training School. He served two tours at The Pentagon and was Commandant of the NATO School at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Commandant of Air War College, and Vice Commander of Air University. He commanded two fighter wings and led two air expeditionary force deployments to Southwest Asia: AEF III and the 4th Air Expeditionary Wing. He flew more than 165 combat missions in Southeast and Southwest Asia in the A-1 Skyraider and the F-15E Strike Eagle. A command pilot, he has more than 3,000 hours in various military aircraft.
1969 Bachelor of Arts degree in business management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia1978 Master of Arts degree in business management, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant1982 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama1990 Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania1994 Advanced Executive Program, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IllinoisJune 1970 - June 1971, student, undergraduate pilot training, Columbus AFB, MississippiJune 1971 - September 1971, A-1 combat crew training, Hurlburt Field, FloridaOctober 1971 - October 1972, A-1 pilot, 1st Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AFB, ThailandOctober 1972 - July 1973, instructor pilot training, Randolph AFB, TexasJuly 1973 - September 1977, instructor pilot and chief, check section, 96th Flying Training Squadron, Williams AFB, ArizonaSeptember 1977 - January 1979, staff officer, Air Staff Training Program, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.January 1979 - August 1981, student, A-7 Corsair conversion training, A-7D aircraft commander, flight commander and assistant operations officer, 76th Tactical Fighter Squadron, England AFB, LouisianaAugust 1981 - June 1982, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AlabamaJune 1982 - July 1986, Air Staff officer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations; Project Checkmate analyst for interdiction, Europe and Southwest Asia; Air Force team chief, Joint Assessment and Initiative Office, and executive officer to the Air Force Director of Operations, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.July 1986 - July 1989, Chief of Safety, later, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, Myrtle Beach AFB, South CarolinaJuly 1989 - June 1990, student, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PennsylvaniaJune 1990 - August 1992, Commandant, NATO School, SHAPE, Oberammergau, GermanyAugust 1992 - September 1993, Vice Commander, later, Commander, 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, New MexicoSeptember 1993 - June 1995, Assistant Director of Operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, VirginiaJune 1995 - July 1997, Commander, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, North CarolinaJuly 1997 - August 1998, Vice Commander, 7th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Korea, and Chief of Staff, Combined Republic of Korea and U.S. Air Component Command, Osan Air Base, South KoreaSeptember 1998 - December 1999, Commandant, Air War College, and Vice Commander, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AlabamaDecember 1999 - November 2001, Commander, Air Force Doctrine Center, Maxwell AFB, AlabamaNovember 2001 - October 2003, Deputy Commander, United Nations Command; Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces Korea; Commander, Air Component Command, Republic of Korea and U.S. Combined Forces Command; and Commander, 7th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Osan AB, South KoreaOctober 2003 - November 2005, Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, FloridaNovember 2005 - November 2007, Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, Norfolk, VirginiaRating: Command pilotFlight hours: More than 3,000Aircraft flown: T-33, T-37, T-38, A-1, A-7, A-10, F-111F, F-15E and F-16Major awards and decorations
Allied Command TransformationSecond Lieutenant May 18, 1970First Lieutenant November 11, 1971Captain October 18, 1973Major December 4, 1978Lieutenant Colonel February 1, 1982Colonel July 1, 1989Brigadier General July 1, 1995Major General April 1, 1998Lieutenant General January 1, 2002General November 7, 2005 
