COVER STORY
during the last 32 years in the Army and the many challenges and opportunities he faced. “The view as an Army officer is one that is built over years of service to the nation. We all receive the basics of ethics, leadership, and the tactical skills that we need for success. However, the key to our success is the character development that we learned as young people growing up around the United States. As a young man growing up in Atlanta, Georgia I faced many of the same challenges that most other young people faced growing up in the 1960s. However, my challenges were exacerbated with the death of my father from a short-term illness. Thankfully, my mother was undaunted. Born in Columbus, Mississippi, to Ms. Corine McCoy, she was the oldest in her family. My dad, Calvin, was also the oldest of 10 children born to Moses and Rosetta Smith of Mound Bayou, Mississippi (in the Mississippi Delta). My parents met at Rust College after my father’s return from the Korean War, and they settled in Atlanta because they recognized that it was a place that offered better opportunities for achievement.” (If you want to learn more about Mound Bayou, MS visit the National Museum of African American History.)
shop. That is just one example of the early involvement from positive family members that showed us that all things were possible if we worked hard. Today, I still follow those life-lessons from my formative years which taught me to treat everyone with dignity and respect, to have fun in what I do each day, and to make the mission happen. Kappa refined all of the traits that I developed in our schools, our churches, and our community organizations by showing me how to pull the entire package together. Kappa Alpha Psi ® showed me that young men of humble beginnings are not limited by their starting place in life, but can achieve great things if they are willing to commit themselves to their goals.” experiences & postings The United States Army Inspector General Agency has a rich and illustrious history which traces back to the days of the Revolutionary War. General George Washington tasked Baron von Steuben with teaching the Continental Army the essentials of military drills, tactics and discipline in order to prepare inexperienced soldiers for the challenges they faced during a critical point in our nation’s history. In recognition of his success, Washington appointed von Steuben as the Army’s first Inspector General, and the standards he established 240 years ago remain a vital foundation for the Agency’s operations today. The Inspector General Agency serves as the “eyes and ears” for the commander. “At my level, we support both the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army with their number one priority: Readiness. We accomplish this by teaching and training the force to get ahead of problem areas, sharing emerging trends, inspecting systems
“My mother was relentless in her focus on education and opportunity for her children. She changed her profession from teaching English to banking so that she could spend more time with her family instead of grading papers at night. The other strategic decision she made was to enroll all of her children in a parochial elementary school a few miles from our home. While our home was safe and we had fun, the public elementary schools were not up to the standard that she expected. These decisions set our family on a track for excellence and achievement in areas that she could not have imagined.” Mrs. Smith’s children’s achievements included the promotion of her son to Lieutenant General, her daughter’s service as a school principal, and another son’s service as an executive vice president for finance in a major company. “Our upbringing during the summers in Mound Bayou and Columbus, Georgia reinforced the standards she set for our family. My uncle Curtis was a great mentor and entrepreneur who ran a barber shop, a convenience store, and gas station, all while continuing to farm the family’s land. He gave me my first hair cut in his barber
Secretary of the United States Army Dr. Mark A. Esper swearing in Lieutenant General Smith.
14 | THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for 105 years
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