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Lieutenant Colonel Smith is currently the Commandant of the Marine Corps Senior Fellow to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a DC based think Tank. Prior to joining CNAS he served as the U.S. Marine Attaché (MARA) to Russia until his diplomatic expulsion from Moscow in April of 2018.
Colin has over 25 years’ experience as a Marine Officer holding the military specialties of Combat Engineer Officer and Foreign Area Officer (FAO). He has commanded combat engineers at the platoon, company and battalion level, most recently as the Battalion Commander of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division from 2014-2016. LtCol Smith’s staff assignments include Senior Engineer Officer of a Division, an Air Wing, a MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) and as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (AC/S) G-4 for a MEF. Colin also has extensive overseas experience: first serving in Bangkok Thailand on the Marine Security Guard program as the OPSO and XO, living and studying aboard in Russia; and as a FAO where he has served as a UN Military Observer in Georgia (2008) and as the Senior Defense Official/ Defense Attaché (SDO/DATT) to Latvia (2009-2011) in addition to his time in Moscow as the MARA. He was the first Marine SDO/DATT worldwide. Colin’s Combat tours include a year as the 3rd MAW (FWD) Engineer and Base engineer at Al Asad airbase, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, and as the Deputy AC/S C-7 and C-7 OPSO, RC(SW), Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Colin, originally from Evanston, IL, now married with two grown daughters, started at USNA in 32nd Company and graduated from Thirsty 3rd with a BS in Engineering. He also holds a MA in National Security Affairs (Russia and Former Soviet Union) from the Naval Post Graduate School, and he has graduated from Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College (Non-Resident) and the Defense Language Institute.
As my military career is coming to its final chapters, and having recently returned to the DC are, I’ve decided to run for Class President, and continue the tremendous work that Joe has done the past 15 years. I’ve long had a passion to give back to our Class and the Academy, and can think of no better way then representing the great 93 as your president. I can promise I will put as much effort and devotion into the position as I have the Corps this past 25+years.