Kristian Smith retired in 2021 as a U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel and Designated Army Strategist after 30 years of service. He is a native of Glen Cove, New York and a 1991 graduate of Wake ForestUniversity where he earned his ROTC commission in the U.S. Army Infantry.

He is currently working as an Adjunct Research Staff Member for the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) focusing on the Indo-Pacific region and U.S. Indo Pacific Command’s strategy development efforts, campaign and crisis planning, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and Defense Institution Building efforts.

In addition to work with IDA, Kris is an adjunct lecturer for Joint Special Operations University, U.S. Special Operations Command, where he co-teaches a course on National Resilience and Resistance to deploying U.S. Special Operations Forces and directly with U.S. allies and partners globally. Recent overseas work includes Ukraine, Estonia, Sweden, Hungary, Germany, and the Republic of Georgia.

In his last active-duty assignment, Kris served as the Chair of the Strategy Field of Study for the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS), a joint senior service college under the National Defense University. In addition to developing and executing a curriculum focused on strategy development and assessment, he was also responsible for developing the college’s Design curriculum and Capstone exercise.

Prior to joining the JAWS Faculty, Kris served as the Chief of Strategy and Policy for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command where his responsibilities included the command’s Theater Strategy, Campaign Plan, and Theater Posture Plan. His other strategist assignments include a three-year tour as the Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Force Development in the Office of the Secretary of Defense - Policy; Political/Military Affairs Officer in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs; Chief of the Interagency Branch, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Plans; and Branch Chief within the Stability Operations Division, Army Staff.

As a Special Forces Officer, Kris was operational with the 10th Special Forces Group where he served as an ODA Commander, RST Commander, ODB Commander, Battalion S3, Group S3, and DJ3 - Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula. His service in these various capacities involved the employment of U.S. and foreign SOF in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in a range of operations from training and peace enforcement to intelligence activities, strategic reconnaissance, and combat. In addition, he commanded the unit responsible for conducting Special Forces Assessment and Selection for the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Kris holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, where he graduated with distinction; a Master of Science in Administration and Strategic Leadership from Central Michigan University; and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wake Forest University. He and his wife live with their two school age daughters in Norfolk, Virginia.