Lt. Col. Dean A. Smith is the Commander, 341st Recruiting Squadron, San Antonio, Texas. He leads a squadron of nine flights and 100 people across Texas and Louisiana, covering 125,000 square miles. He partners with military, civic, community and educational organizations to inspire, engage and recruit future Airmen and Guardians to deliver airpower for America. He manages a $1.2 million budget, 57 vehicles, and 46 recruiting offices. The squadron's mission is to inspire, engage, and recruit diverse, highly qualified applicants to ensure our Nation’s continued Total Force dominance through Air, Space, and Cyberspace.
Lieutenant Colonel Smith entered the Air Force in 2004 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served in a variety of operations, intelligence, staff, and cyber assignments. Prior to his current position, he served as Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 16th Air Force at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
EDUCATION
2004 Bachelor of Science, Foreign Area Studies, United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
2010 Squadron Officers School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2011 United States Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2012 Masters of Arts, Strategic Intelligence, American Military University, W.V.
2013 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2004 – Aug. 2005, Squadron Duty Officer, 4 Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.
2. Aug. 2005 – Dec. 2007, Executive Officer 17th Training Group and Student, Intelligence Officer Course, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
3. Dec. 2007 – Nov. 2009, Chief of Analysis and Chief of Standardization & Evaluations, 18th Operations Support Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan
4. Nov. 2009 – Jan. 2011, Chief of Intelligence, 67th Fighter Squadron Kadena AB, Japan
5. Jan. 2011 – June 2011, Student, United States Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
6. June 2011 – July 2014, Flight Commander and Chief of Intelligence, 366 Operations Support Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
7. July 2014 – July 2017, Director of Operations, Foreign Materiel Exploitation Squadron, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
8. July 2017 – Oct. 2020, Branch Chief, Weapons and Tactics, Intelligence Directorate, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
9. Oct. 2020 – June 2021, Chief of Weapons and Tactics, 16th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
10. June 2021 – Present, Commander, 341 Recruiting Squadron, San Antonio, Texas
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
National Defense Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one campaign star
Iraq Campaign Medal with one bronze star
Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal with one bronze star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
NATO Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF RANK:
Second Lieutenant June 2, 2004
First Lieutenant June 2, 2006
Captain June 2, 2008
Major August 1, 2014
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 2019
(Current as of June 2021)