Our fifth recipient, Lieutenant General (Ret) George W. Smith Jr., completed the AMP at Harvard Business School in October 2013.  George retired from the Marine Corps in September 2023, concluding over 38 years of commissioned service.  His 12 years as a General Officer included assignments as the Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA; Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters, Marine Corps; and Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy, U.S. Central Command in Tampa, FL.  An infantry and reconnaissance officer, George served in several infantry and reconnaissance units throughout the Marine Corps.  In 2002-2003, George served as the lead planner for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force for the initial invasion of Iraq.  He made two subsequent deployments to Iraq while commanding 1st Force Reconnaissance Company from July 2004 to October 2006.  George next served as the Commanding Officer, The Basic School in Quantico, VA, from 2007-2010, followed by assignment as the Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.  George was commissioned through the NROTC program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985.  He graduated with honors from The Basic School, the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, School of Advanced Warfighting (General Clifton B. Cates Award recipient), and the Marine Corps War College, where he earned a MA in Strategic Studies and was awarded First Place in the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Essay Contest for his essay entitled, “Avoiding a Napoleonic Ulcer: Bridging the Gap of Cultural Intelligence.”

George is married to his wife, Amy, and he has three children.