JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The road to the U.S. Army differs for each and every Soldier in uniform. But for some it is a continuation of a family legacy; the next generation to serve, keeping with an unwritten family tradition.
Army Capt. Catherine Smith of U.S. Army North is one of those Soldiers. She is a military brat who moved with her family from assignment to assignment as her father served as an Army intelligence officer.
But military service wasn’t a given for her, even though each generation of her family had served dating back to the Revolutionary War.
Following high school, Smith graduated from State University of New York at Cortland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught preschool for a year in Syracuse, N.Y., before the Army’s calling reached her. She enlisted to attend Officer Candidate School after completing basic and advanced training.
“I really missed the Army, being part of something bigger than myself,” she said when asked what led her to the Army.
She has been successful in her career and recently was recognized as a recipient of the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award by the Army and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation.
The award, presented annually since 1987, “promotes and sustains effective junior officer leadership in the Army.” Smith and the other 27 awardees were selected through a board process. There are nearly 60,000 captains and warrant officers in the active, reserve and National Guard eligible to be nominated for the honor.
“I am exceptionally excited to be a part of this group,” Smith said. “The award gives me a level of confidence in the fact that what I’ve done to this point is in line with what the Army would like. If I continue in that vein, I will serve the Soldiers and the Army really well.”
The MacArthur Award objective, according to the Army G-1 website, is “to recognize company grade officers who demonstrate the ideals for which General MacArthur stood – duty, honor, country.”
Smith, who was presented with a 15-pound bronze bust of MacArthur during the awards ceremony at the Pentagon June 15, said she will put the award on a shelf above her desk where she serves as a force manager.
Tim Callahan, ARNORTH Force Management Chief, said Smith's demonstrated leadership in last year made it easy to make the recommendation. The officers are selected on leadership performance during the recent calendar year.
“I want to share it with Mr. Callahan, who recommended me for the award and the other people I work with,” Smith said. “I want to share the moment with them.”
“Capt. Smith served in three different complex assignments during the nomination period, her consistent displays of leadership in each organization and dedication every day making the unit and the soldiers better, made writing the nomination easy,” Callahan said.
Smith said her father, Frederick, who attended the presentation, jokes with her by naming general officers he briefed during his time in the Army. Now, she can name drop right back after receiving the award from Gen. Mark Milley, Army Chief of Staff.
Before leaving San Antonio for Washington, D.C., Smith said she looked forward to hearing the chief of staff speak.
“I’m interested to hear from Gen. Milley, how he sees the Army as it is now and what the future holds.”
During his remarks, Milley, the Army’s 39th Chief of Staff, called MacArthur one of the Army’s and “arguably one of the world’s greatest generals.”
He encouraged the recipients to learn from MacArthur’s example, a great leader who allowed his ego to become his downfall. He spoke of their need to be humble servants and “practice humility, the antidote to hubris.”
June has turned out to be a memorable one for Smith, who hits the 10-year service mark June 28.
She learned the week before the ceremony that she was accepted into the Strategic Broadening Seminar program in Shrivenham, England. The six-week program is run by the United Kingdom Defence Academy and is similar to the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College, according to Smith.