Colonel Vito S. Smyth is the Commander, 39th Medical Group, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. He commands 203 personnel in two squadrons executing an $8 million budget, and providing a wide range of medical services caring for the health and wellness of 6,000 personnel. As commander, he develops programs and policies to guide coordination of local, regional and host nation health care and directs medical aspects of the Personnel Reliability Program and deployment medicine to support and protect U.S. and NATO assets and people throughout Turkey. Prior to assuming his current position, Colonel Smyth was Chief, Healthcare Facilities Operations and Analytics Branch, Defense Health Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia. 

Colonel Smyth enlisted in the United States Air Force as an Inventory Management Specialist upon graduation from Lancaster (Ohio) High School in 1987. After earning his Bachelor of Science in Business and Management from the University of Maryland, he was honorably discharged from the Air Force and attended law school in 1993. After receiving his law degree from Cleveland State University in 1996, he was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio that same year. Colonel Smyth received a direct commission into the United States Air Force Medical Service Corps in 1997, and has served in a variety of legislative liaison and medical administration leadership areas at the installation, higher headquarters and joint level. He also earned a Master of Health Care Administration from Baylor University in 2004 and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Air War College in 2014. Colonel Smyth is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court as well as various other federal courts. He is board certified in executive healthcare management from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

EDUCATION

1993 Bachelor of Science in Business and Management, University of Maryland, College Park, Md.

1996 Juris Doctor, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio

1998 Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Health Services Administration Course, Sheppard AFB, Texas

2001 Certificate of Knowledge in the Italian Language, Centro Lingua Italiana Calvino, Florence, Italy

2004 Master of Health Care Administration, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

2004 Squadron Officer School via correspondence

2006 Air Command and Staff College via correspondence

2010 Air War College via correspondence

2010 Air Force Legislative Fellowship, Government Affairs Institute, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

2014 Master of Strategic Studies, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. February 1998 – September 1999, Medical Records Flight Commander, 72nd Medical Operations Squadron, Tinker AFB Okla.
2. September 1999 – May 2002, Medical Information Systems Flight Commander, 92nd Medical Support Squadron, Fairchild AFB Wash.
3. June 2002 – July 2004, student, Air Force Institute of Technology, San Antonio, Texas.
4. July 2004 – September 2005, Executive Officer to the Command Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon General for Dental Services, Office of the Command Surgeon, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
5. September 2005 – October 2006, Group Practice Manager, 88th Medical Operations Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (April 2006 – August 2006, deployed as Joint Medical Plans Officer, Operation Noble Eagle, Joint Task Force – Civil Support, Fort Monroe, Va.)
6. October 2006 – January 2008, Chief, Medical Operations and Plans Analysis, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Headquarters United States Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington D.C. (March 2007 – December 2007, detailed as a Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst, Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care, Falls Church, Va.)
7. January 2008 – July 2009, Chief, Policy and Legal Analysis Branch, Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Task Force National Capitol Region Medical, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.
8. July 2009 – December 2010, Intermediate Development Education student, Air Force Legislative Fellow, personal staff member for Senator Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii), United States Senate, Washington D.C.
9. December 2010 – June 2011, Chief, Legislative Issues Branch, Air Force Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington D.C.
10. June 2011 – June 2013, Commander, 22nd Medical Support Squadron and Administrator, 22nd Medical Group, McConnell AFB Kan.
11. July 2013 – May 2014, Senior Developmental Education student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB Ala.
12. June 2014 – July 2015, Interim Director, Congressional and Public Affairs Directorate, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Defense Health Headquarters, Falls Church, Va. (January 2015 – June 2015, deployed as Commander, 379th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron, Operations Freedom’s Sentinel and Inherent Resolve, Al Udeid AB, Qatar).
13. July 2015 – September 2016, Executive Officer to the Air Force Surgeon General, Headquarters United States Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington D.C.
14. September 2016 – May 2017, Chief, Healthcare Facilities Operations and Analytics Branch, Resources and Management Directorate, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Va.
15. May 2017 – Present, Commander, 39th Medical Group, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS

1. January 2008 – July 2009, Chief, Policy and Legal Analysis Branch, Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Task Force National Capitol Region Medical, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., as a major.
2. September 2016 – May 2017, Chief, Healthcare Facilities Operations and Analytics Branch, Resources and Management Directorate, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Va., as a colonel.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters

Joint Service Commendation Medal

Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters

Air Force Achievement Medal

Air Force Good Conduct Medal with oak leaf cluster

National Defense Service Medal with bronze star

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Humanitarian Service Medal

Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal with oak leaf cluster

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant December 28, 1997

First Lieutenant December 28, 1999

Captain December 28, 2001

Major October 1, 2006

Lieutenant Colonel December 1, 2010

Colonel August 1, 2016

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND BAR ADMISSIONS

Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives

The Supreme Court of the United States

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

The Supreme Court of Ohio

(Current as of June 2017)