Col Marty T. Smith is the Commander, 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. In this capacity, he leads a team of military and civilian professionals who train and graduate over 1200 C-130 aircrew members annually from across the Department of Defense, Coast Guard, and 47 partner nations. The 314th Airlift Wing serves as the United States Air Force C-130 “Center of Excellence” for tactical airlift.
Col Smith received his commission in 2000 from the United States Air Force Academy and completed undergraduate pilot training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2002. He then served three operational tours as an Aircraft Commander, Instructor Pilot, Evaluator Pilot and Weapons Officer in the C-130 Hercules. He attended the United States College of Naval Command and Staff (CNCS) in Newport, Rhode Island. After completing CNCS, Col Smith served as the Air Operations Officer, J3 Division, United States Africa Command. He then served as Commander of the 29th Weapons Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, Deputy Commander of the 86th Operations Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and most recently Commander, 19th Operations Group, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.
EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Science, Legal Studies, United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2008 Air Force Weapons School, C-130 Weapons Instructor Course, Little Rock
AFB, Ark.
2009 Master of Science, Business Administration, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, Fla.
2011 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2014 Masters of Art, Strategy and National Security Studies, College of Naval
Command and Staff, Newport, R.I.
2016 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk,
Va.
2022 Master of Science, Strategic Studies, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, AL
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2000 – April 2001, Legal Assistant, 10th ABW Judge Advocate, United
States Air Force Academy, Colo.
2. April 2001 – January 2002, Student, JSUPT, NAS Pensacola, Fla.
3. January 2002 – September 2002, Student, JSUPT, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas
4. September 2002 – April 2003, Student, C-130H Formal Training Unit, Little Rock
AFB, Ark.
5. April 2003 – September 2006, C-130H Aircraft Commander and Deputy Chief of
Tactics, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
6. September 2006 – September 2009, C-130H Evaluator Pilot and Chief of
Combat Operations, Yokota Air Base, Japan
7. September 2009 – July 2013, Assistant Director of Operations, Little Rock AFB,
Ark.
8. July 2013 – July 2014, Student, College of Naval Command and Staff, Newport,
R.I.
9. July 2014 – July 2016, Air Operations Officer, United States Africa Command,
Stuttgart, Germany
10. July 2016 – June 2017, Director of Operations, 29th Weapons Squadron, Little
Rock AFB, Ark
11. June 2017 – June 2019, Commander, 29th Weapons Squadron, Little Rock
AFB, Ark.
12. June 2019 – June 2021, Deputy Commander, 86th Operations Group,
Ramstein AB, Germany
13. June 2021 – May 2022, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
14. June 2022 – June 2024, Commander, 19th Operations Group Commander,
Little Rock AFB, Ark.
15. June 2024 – Present, Commander, 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2014 – July 2016, Air Operations Officer, United States Africa Command,
Stuttgart, Germany, as a Lieutenant Colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 3,500 hours including more than 800 combat hours. Aircraft Flown: T-34, T-44, C-130H, C-130J
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 2000
First Lieutenant June 1, 2002
Captain June 1, 2004
Major February 1, 2010
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2015
Colonel June 1, 2021
(Current as of June 2024)