LTC Philip J. Smith is a Kansas City, MO native who received his commission into the Field Artillery from ROTC at Truman State University. His first assignment was to 25th Infantry Division where he served as a Forward Observer with 1-21 Infantry Battalion and as the Fire Direction and Executive Officer with B/2-11 Field Artillery Battalion deploying to Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2007 to 2009 earning the 2008 Knox Battery Award. He was selected to become an Information Systems Officer and deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom with 10th MTN Division serving as the Division Automation Management Officer. LTC Smith has also served with the Defense Information Agency, Joint Staff J2, and is currently serving with the Command and Control Cross-Functional Team under Army Futures Command as the Data Systems Development Officer.