Colonel Katrina Smith is Commander, 19th Mission Support Group, 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.. She leads 1,800 military and civilian personnel in six squadrons, directing operations for critical base and combat support functions for 12,000 military personnel and their families plus 57,000 retirees. She directs contracting, communications, security, logistics, personnel, and civil engineering functions culminating in assets valued at $2.9B. Col. Smith also provides $48M in Base Operating Support to the 19th Airlift Wing, 314th Airlift Wing (AETC), USAF Weapon School (ACC), 189th Airlift Wing (ANG), and 20 tenants, covering the 6,000-acre installation. Finally, she ensures timely deployment operations as well as chairs installation councils to enhance quality of life programs.
Col Smith hails from Rapid City, South Dakota and entered the Air Force in 2003 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She earned a master’s degree from University of Massachusetts-Lowell in 2009. She was awarded Acquisition Life Cycle Logistics Level I certification in 2015. Col Smith has deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
Prior to her current assignment, Col Smith served as Commander Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation at Oklahoma City, Tinker AFB, OK. In this capacity, she led a 436-member team that provided retail-level support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex (ALC), supporting dept maintenance for bomber and tanker aircraft earning over $920M in annual revenue.
EDUCATION
2003 Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2004 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala
2009 Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, University of Massachusetts-Lowell
2010 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala (Top Flight)
2013 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala, by correspondence
2014 Advanced Logistics Readiness Officer Course, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-
Lakehurst, NJ
2020 Enterprise Logistics Course, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
2021 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala, by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1.June 2003 – June 2006, ATOC Duty Officer; OIC Ramp Services; Unit Readiness
Officer, Dover AFB, DE (September 2004 – January 2005, Asst Aerial Port Flight
Commander, Balad Air Base, Iraq)
2.June 2006 – June 2007, Material Management Flight Commander, 8th Logistics
Readiness Squadron, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea
3. July 2007 – July 2009, Functional Area Commander; Fuels Management Flight
Commander, 36th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Andersen AFB, Guam
4. July 2009 – July 2010, Logistics Plans and Programs Division Chief, 7th Air
Force, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
5. August 2010 – August 2012, Operations Officer, 727th Air Mobility Squadron,
RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom
6. August 2012 – August 2013, Southwest Sub-Region Commander, DLA-Energy
Middle East Region, NSA Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain
7. August 2013 – May 2015, Executive Officer; Deputy Branch Chief, Acquisition
Logistics Branch, Requirements Division, Directorate of Strategic Plans,
Requirements, and Programs, Headquarters, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB,
IL
8. June 2015 – July 2017, Commander, 36th Logistics Readiness Squadron,
Andersen AFB, Guam
9. July 2017 – July 2019, Commander, 727th Air Mobility Squadron, RAF
Mildenhall, United Kingdom
10. July 2019 – Jul 2020, Executive Officer to the Commander, USAF
Expeditionary Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ
11. July 2020 – June 2022, Munitions Programmer and Planner, Combat Air
Forces Panel, HQ USAF Directorate of Strategic Plans & Programs,
Pentagon, Arlington, VA
12. June 2022 – June 2024, Deputy Commander, 31st Mission Support Group,
Aviano AB, Italy
13. June 2024 – Jun 2025, Commander, DLA Aviation at Oklahoma City, Tinker
AFB, OK
14. June 2025 – Present, Commander, 19th Mission Support Group, Little Rock
AFB, AR
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Iraq Campaign Medal with one bronze star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korean Defense Service Medal
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Logistics Readiness Officer of the Year, 36th Wing, 2008
Airlift Tanker Association Young Leadership Award, 521st AMOW, 2010
PACAF Non-Flying LRS of the Year, 2015 & 2016
Small Air Terminal of the Year, 521st AMOW, 2017
Lance P. Sijan nominee, 521st AMOW, 2017
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Permanent member, Logistics Officers Association (LOA)
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 10, 2003
First Lieutenant May 28, 2005
Captain May 28, 2007
Major October 1, 2013
Lt Col May 1, 2018
Col November 1, 2024
(Current as of July 2025)