Passing the torch is an adage people consistently use to denote handing over control of a position, title, or job. However, that saying also carries a weight that isn't easily defined.
The “torch” is a fact of life for Soldiers, but it is also one fact that ensures the overall life of the force evolves with time.
For Col. Derek A. Smith, former commander of the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, and who initiated the first two years of 16th CAB’s over-water program, the torch has always been rooted in his life.
"My dad was a UH-60 [Black Hawk] pilot, and he retired as a brigadier general from the combat readiness center," Smith said.
Since his father was in the Army, Smith grew up alongside other members of the Army family, including his future wife.
"My wife and I grew up together," he said. "Her father was a retired [colonel] and retired after 30 years, and was also the commander of [1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment] 'No Mercy.'"
That connection to "No Mercy" was also shared by another person Smith grew up with, Col. Tyler J. Cody, who commanded 2nd Squadron 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade and is now the new commander of the 16th CAB.
Recently, Smith handed off command of the 16th CAB to Cody during a change of command ceremony at Joint Base Lewis McChord.
The Army and aviation have been a part of most of Smith's upbringing and adult life, and he attributes his draw toward aviation to all the people around him and their passion for flying.
"Growing up around aviation, I really wanted to do it, and the first time I saw the Apache in flight school, I fell in love with it immediately and knew that's what I wanted to fly," Smith said.
But, according to Smith, flying is not for everyone as it can be a taxing experience for anyone unprepared for the rigors of being a pilot.
"Being an aviator is a very difficult part of our job because it's a lot of studying. You must maintain two separate identities; one is being a pilot because the aircraft doesn't care what your rank is," Smith said. The second part of the job is keeping up with all the duties required of a commissioned officer, he said.
For Smith, who joined the Army in 2001, keeping up with his two identities didn't slow him down as he kept his passion for Army aviation one of his top priorities.
"He has a definite passion for aviation and even for the future of aviation," said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Barry Sledd, command chief warrant officer of the 16th CAB. "He can take Gen. Flynn and Gen. Pappas' intent and mold this CAB into the I Corps, enabling CAB to see the future of what is needed."
As all Soldiers know, the Army may have to call them to war, and Smith is abundantly aware of combat aviation. He has accumulated approximately 3000 flight hours and has had four combat deployments as well as one deployment to South Korea.
"One of the things that kept me flying was all of the combat rotations," he said. "The reason why I like to fly the Apache is if I fly from point A to point B, it doesn't do anything for me. I don't fly in the civilian world; I don't have an airplane – lots of people love to go just to get up in the air – but for me, I love ground tactic maneuvers, and that's what drew me to the mission of attack aviation."
"The military is a unique experience: getting to all these countries, operating multimillion-dollar pieces of equipment, and doing these missions," he said.
For Smith, aviation is not the only thing that kept him in the Army. Like much of the Army at large, "people first" is never far from his mind.
"He sets a tone and a culture within the organization that is second to none," Sledd said. "He's able to talk up and out and down in, so he can relate to the name-tape level Soldier, all the way up to the senior leaders in our Army."
"My favorite thing in life is setting a climate and condition for Soldiers to come in, excel at their job, be proud of it, and be recognized for what I always say is gaining a feeling like 'nobody else can do what they can do.'"
Smith's approach to taking care of Soldiers is talking to and working directly with them in some of their day-to-day work, getting to know and encourage all of those around him.
"He has the ability to humanize everybody to make them feel part of his team," Sledd said.
"That's what's always kind of driven me to this is getting to hang around phenomenal people – very talented people – and then watching these young people do things like a corporal who is responsible for tearing down an entire aircraft to the studs and rebuilding it," Smith said. "If you invest in people, they can do anything."
Taking care of Soldiers care of the future of the force but taking care of the force also takes form in the redesigning of how elements within the Army prepare for future fights. Smith has taken the guidance and direction for the future Army and applied it to his formation by making the 16th CAB more capable in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.
He knew before he took command of 16th CAB what his part in the transition would be, the over-water mission.
"The over-water mission and transition, truly, to being an INDOPACOM aviation asset – a littoral combat fighting brigade," he said. "I quickly picked up on the cues coming from our senior leaders of what we needed to do. This brigade had no over-water program – you can't fight in INDOPACOM without flying over water."
And for the past two years, Smith worked toward ensuring the brigade had the over-water program needed for that theater of operation – to be able to fight and fly over the waters closer to shorelines.
The three-year program works with different military branches and nations, which helps extend the reach of aviation assets, adds on ways to carry extra fuel for aircraft, or creating new areas to refuel – all serve to extend the reach of 16 CAB. The program also works to extend the communication range, ship deck-landing qualifications, and over-water fighting.
"In order to do all of this, we had to build an entirely new training plan and acquire all of the required items," he said. "We are competent at flying over water; we have done deck landing qualifications, operated off of ships, executed austere [forward arming and refueling point] operations, and we have acquired all the equipment that we needed to fly over water."
But, as every Soldier knows, passing the torch is just a fact of life – and the time came for Smith to pass off the 16th CAB as well as its over-water mission to the new commander.
"But now is the time that [Cody] needs to pick up the mantle and transition us from flying over-water to fighting over water," Smith said. "The way we evaluate and assess ourselves within our readiness reporting needs to change so that we can all appreciate the complexity that exists when you try to fight in a littoral environment."
"We got ourselves to the point where we're ready for [Cody] to take this thing on and train this formation on how to truly fight."
Even though Smith must pass the torch, he believes the 16th CAB is in good hands with Cody, who will see the brigade to the finish line with the three-year program. But just because he is leaving doesn't mean that Smith isn't looking to the future of Army aviation.
"Envelopment is going to play a tremendous key feature in any future fight," he said. "While UAVs, unmanned systems, are really good and will do a lot, you'll never win a fight without having the boots on the ground somewhere owning terrain. The Apache has become so complex that Army Aviation is trying to develop systems that help with artificial intelligence and decision-making. Cognitive improvements are the way of the future because the fight has gotten so complex, the systems are complex … we have to simplify things for the aviators to let them do their jobs successfully."
With all the dedication that he has committed to the 16th CAB, Smith's influence on the over-water program and Army aviation is something that has already changed the way combat aviation is done over the waters of INDOPACOM. That kind of commitment a Soldier gives will, more often than not, leave an impression on them and the Soldiers around them.
"I'm going to miss the conversations and friendship he built with this command team," Sledd said. "A lot of leaders say their goodbyes at the changes of command, but he goes around to each formation within the CAB, and he has talked to each one of those formations to tell them what they've done, what he enjoyed about working with them. I'll miss that aspect of him."
"I'm honestly more proud of my time here than I've ever been in my career. Watching these young people innovate … watching them take on this mantle, and just kill it and do so good – they have exceeded my expectations," Smith said.
Even if passing the torch is part of a Soldier's life, sometimes that commitment and ultimate relinquishment of position aren't just handing over the light but adding to the fire of the future – always building toward the ability to take on the next challenge on the horizon.
Social Sharing