Lieutenant General Edwin Paul Smith (born 8 August 1945) commanded the U.S. Army, Pacific from October 1998 to his retirement in November 2002. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1967 and went on to earn two graduate degrees. He earned a Master of Arts in English from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

and a Master of Business Administration from

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

. Smith is also a graduate of the Canadian National Defense College. Smith served one tour in Vietnam during 1968 as an infantry platoon leader. Promoted to Brigadier General in 1993, Smith's major command prior to USARPAC was as Commanding General of the

U.S. Army Southern European Task Force The Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF–AF), formally the United States Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, (SETAF-AF) is a formation of the United States Army headquartered at Caserma Del Din, Italy. History The Southern Eur ...

Vicenza, Italy Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. ...

. Other major duty assignments were as Deputy for Readiness for the

U.S. Pacific Command The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Its commander, ...

from 1991–1993. He then served as Executive Officer to the

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

, in Belgium, followed by a tour as Assistant Division Commander for the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

Awards and decorations

Smith's official retirement date was 1 January 2003. He later served as the Director of

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) is a U.S. Department of Defense institute that officially opened Sept. 4, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Center addresses regional and global security issues, inviting mili ...

in Honolulu from 2005 until 2011. *

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

References

* United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit American recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Living people Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal 1945 births {{US-army-bio-stub