Colonel Michael D. Smith enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve as an Equipment Records and Parts Specialist (76C) in June 1990 and later commissioned through the Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia as an Ordnance (Material Maintenance) Officer in June 1998. He is a graduate of the Ordnance Officer Basic and Quartermaster Officer Advanced Courses, The Army Comptrollers Course, Combined Arms Exercise, Intermediate Level Education, Advance Operations Course, Advanced Joint Professional Military Education, and the U.S. Army War College.
Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Smith served as the Deputy Commander for the 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in San Antonio, Texas. As an Army Logistician, Colonel Smith has extensive logistics experience in command and staff positions. His previous non-command assignments include Platoon Leader positions at Maintenance and Quartermaster companies; Detachment and Company commands; Battalion S-2/3 and S-4 in Training and Military Police battalions, respectively, Budget Officer, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Chief of Staff of the Army Reserve Sustainment Command. Additionally, while deployed, Colonel Smith served as the Deputy Headquarters Commandant and Living Support Area Mayor/OIC, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, and the 401st Army Field Support Brigade Special Staff Liaison Officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) Community.
His command assignments include Commander, 191st Maintenance Company (ND)(DS), Fort Rucker, Alabama; Commander, 461st Human Resource Company, Decatur, Georgia; Interim Commander, 787th Combat Service Support Battalion (CSSB), Dothan, Alabama; Commander, 2nd Squadron, 398th Regiment (Armor), Madisonville, Kentucky; Commander, 1190th Transportation Surface Brigade, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Interim Commander, 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).
Colonel Smith holds Masters Degrees in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of South Alabama and Strategic Studies (MSS) from the United States Army War College. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Start Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, and several other medals, awards, and commendations.
Colonel Smith is a Department of the Army Acquisition Professional. He resides in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife, Yashica, and the two youngest of their five children.