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Tammy Smith

Tammy Smith (born c. 1963) is a Brigadier General of the U.S. Army Reserve. Smith was nominated to the Brigadier General position on May 10, 2012, and was formally promoted to the position in a private ceremony at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. She currently serves as deputy chief in the Army Reserve Office of the Chief, and served for a year in the Afghanistan War.

CAREER

Brigadier General Tammy Smith is a native of Oakland, Oregon, graduating from Oakland High School. She was active in many activities but attributes her interest in both the practice and study of leadership to her participation in the Future Farmers of America (FFA). Her FFA advisor was a dynamic, enthusiastic high school agriculture teacher who taught his students both how to dream and how to set goals. He also taught his students to knuckle down and do the work required to achieve those goals. While in FFA, she participated in both prepared and extemporaneous public speaking competitions as well as maintaining various livestock projects. Smith delayed college for one year after graduating high school to serve as the State Reporter for the Oregon FFA Association. In this role she traveled the state as an FFA representative, conducting leadership camps and speaking at FFA chapters about leadership and goal setting.

BG Smith was a 4-year Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship recipient and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1986. She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps. During her 26 year military career she has served as a Platoon Leader, 193d Support Battalion, Ft. Clayton, Panama; Logistic Support Detachment Commander, Task Force 36, Camino De La Paz, Costa Rica; Bravo Company Commander, 3-28th Infantry Battalion (Basic Combat Training), Ft Jackson, SC; Brigade S-4, 1st Brigade (Basic Combat Training), Ft Jackson, SC; Senior Supply Company Observer/Controller, Forward Support Battalion Team, Joint Readiness Training Center, Ft Polk, LA; Delta Company Commander, 1-321st Infantry Battalion (Basic Combat Training), Ft Jackson, SC; S-1/S-4, Headquarters, Reserve Officer Training Brigade, Charlotte, North Carolina; S-3, 3-321st Infantry Battalion (Basic Combat Training), Clemson, South Carolina; Mobilization Planner, 99th Regional Readiness Command, Oakdale, PA; Secretary to the General Staff, 99th Regional Readiness Command, Coraopolis, PA; Readiness Staff Officer (DAMO-ODR), Department of the Army G-3, Pentagon, Washington, DC; Operations Officer, Office of the Chief, Army Reserve, Arlington, VA; Chief, General Officer Management Office, Office of the Chief, Army Reserve, Arlington, VA; Chief, Army Reserve Affairs, United States Forces- Afghanistan (USFOR-A), OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. Prior to assignment as the Director, she served again as Chief, General Officer Management Office and was dual-hatted as Director, Senior Leader Development Office for the Army Reserve.

Brig. Gen. Smith currently serves as Director of the Army Reserve Human Capital for the United States Army Reserve. She is responsible for integrating strategic human resources policy with operational requirements to improve and sustain long-term personnel readiness across the United States Army Reserve. The Army Reserve maintains an end-strength of 205,000 Soldiers. This high-quality all-volunteer Army Reserve directly supports the Army and Joint Force missions.

During Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith's promotion ceremony, Tracey Hepner, co-founder of the Military Partners and Families Coalition, pins her wife’s first star to her shoulder.

Brig. Gen. Smith holds a Doctor of Management degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix and is a member of the Delta Mu Delta International Business Honor Society. Her research focus was executive leadership and senior leader transitions into new organizations. She holds a Masters of Arts in Management from Webster University. She also holds a Masters in Strategic Studies as a graduate of the United States Army War College .

While proud to be identified as a Citizen-Soldier, the majority of Brig. Gen. Smith’s work history prior to assignment as Director, Human Capital Core Enterprise has been as an Active Component officer and member of the Active/Guard and Reserve Program. She and her spouse Tracey Hepner are active in volunteer military family support events in the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia area.

AWARDS and ACCOLADES

BG Smith’s awards and decorations include: Legion of Merit Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medals (two oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medals (four oak leaf clusters), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Combat Action Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Parachute Rigger Badge, Army Staff Badge

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith, right, the Army Reserve's director of Human Capital Core Enterprise, and her partner, Tracey Hepner, attend the second annual Knights Out Dinner at the U.S. Military Academy in 130323-A-SF247-001

Smith married Tracey Hepner on March 31, 2012, in a ceremony at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. The ceremony was officiated by a military chaplain. The District of Columbia began recognizing same-sex marriages in 2010 , but because BG Smith was in the Army she could not enter into a marriage until after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was repealed. She is the first openly-gay U.S. flag officer to come out while serving, since the repeal of DADT.

Smith’s partner, Tracey Hepner, heads and co-founded the Military Partners and Families Coalition, a campaign for same-sex partners of military service members and veterans. On February 11, 2013, Hepner was announced as a personal guest of First Lady Michelle Obama for the 2013 State of the Union Address.