E.P. SMITH
Lieutenant General (Ret), U.S. Army

DIRECTOR 

LTG (Ret) Ed Smith, United States Army, is the Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), which is a Department of Defense executive education, conference, and research center established in Honolulu on September 4, 1995. The Center supports the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) in its in-residence and outreach activities designed to help security practitioners expand their knowledge, improve their skills and expand their professional networks of colleagues committed to enhancing effective security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

LTG (Ret) Smith retired from active duty in the U. S. Army on January 1, 2003 after 35 years of service, half of which was overseas.  His last assignment while on active duty was as Commanding General of the U. S. Army Pacific.  Serving as an Infantry officer in airborne, air assault and mechanized formations, he served repeatedly as a commander, as well as a line-unit staff officer, mostly in the operations and planning areas. 

He taught at the United States Military Academy (USMA) and at the US Army Infantry Center and served as a special assistant to the USMA Superintendent for policy and planning.  He also served as the Executive Officer to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe at Mons, Belgium and as Assistant Division Commander for Operations in the 82d Airborne Division.

He has extensive experience in the contingency operations and training arena, having led crisis-response joint task forces into Africa twice as Commander of the Southern European Task Force based in Vicenza, Italy and later having been responsible for the training and provision of Army forces for joint-coalition contingency operations in the Asia-Pacific region.  Army forces were deployed to East Timor and the Philippines in support of such operations during his tenure as Commander, U. S. Army Pacific.

His primary areas of expertise include leader development; joint/interagency/coalition education/training and operations; U. S. Army transformation initiatives; and homeland security coordination and operations. 

His civilian schooling includes a Masters of Arts and a Masters of Business Administration, and his military schooling includes a year at the Canadian National Defense College and attendance at Harvard’s JFK School Program on Security Perspectives for Russian and American Flag Officers.

His military awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with “V” device, and the Purple Heart.

He has been a consultant with both U. S. defense industry and defense educational institutions in a number of areas, as well as with civilian corporations in the leader, staff and strategy development arenas.  

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Last updated: 05/21/2010