A General Retires and Continues the Call to Service Reflections from the 66 th Inspector General of the United States Army. by Dr. Sam Odom L t. Gen. Leslie C. Smith, (Iota Pi 1982) the 66 th Inspector Gener- al of the Army, was honored for more than 35 years of the U.S. Army service in a retirement ceremony “I am humbled to have served with you for the past six years,” he said of his time in the IG system. Smith, a native of Atlanta, graduated in 1985 from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He also completed Army ROTC and
Army Chief of Staff Gen. James Mc- Conville hosted the event, and lauded Smith’s contributions to the Army and the Inspector General system. “You have been phenomenal in support- ing Army Senior Leaders … through some unprecedented challenges,” Mc- Conville said. McConville presented Smith with the Distinguished Service Medal. McConville’s wife, Maria, presented Smith’s wife, Vanedra, with the Army Distinguished Public Service Medal for her many years of working with Army families.
earned a commission as a field artil- lery officer in 1983 with the Georgia Army National Guard. After entering active duty service, he transferred to the Chemical Corps. He also holds a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University, as well as a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from National Defense University. During his career, he served in a number of command and staff positions. Of note, he served as a joint staff non-pro- liferation planner, and he commanded
at Conmy Hall August 27, 2021. He will then join Georgia Southern University to become the Carter Chair for Leadership at the Parker College of Business. “Basically, this means that I will take the 38 plus years of leadership experience and use that along with other partners to provide leadership opportu- nities,” stated Smith. Smith has served as The Inspector Gen- eral (TIG) since February 2018. Before that, he served as Deputy, The Inspector General (DTIG) from April 2015 until becoming TIG.
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