AC-130U gunner returns as AFSOC command chief

Published March 31, 2016
By Stuart Camp
AFSOC Public Affairs

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- A veteran Air Commando will return here in June as the new senior enlisted leader for Air Force Special Operations Command.

Chief Master Sgt. Gregory Smith rejoins the command from a post as the command senior enlisted leader at NATO Special Operations Headquarters in Mons, Belgium, Air Force officials announced March 18. Smith will step into the position following the departure of Chief Master Sgt. Matt Caruso, who is moving to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, for an assignment as the command senior enlisted advisor of U.S. Transportation Command.

Caruso has served as AFSOC’s top enlisted since April 24, 2014. He will depart in May to take over for another AFSOC command chief alumnus, Chief Master Sgt. Bill Turner, who is retiring.

Smith will become the ninth AFSOC command chief. He is an AC-130U gunner by trade, and he’s flown primarily with Hurlburt Field’s 4th Special Operations Squadron. He also served as the command’s aerial gunner functional manager from April 2008 to June 2010.

Since then, the in-coming chief has completed tours as the course director for the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy in Tampa, Florida; command chief of Air Education and Training Command’s 58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; and command senior enlisted leader to Special Operations Command Europe, based in Stuttgart-Vaihinger, Germany.

Smith has worn chief stripes since November 2010, tacking on the top enlisted stripe right around his 20-year anniversary in the Air Force. He has more than 3,500 flying hours, including more than 1,375 combat hours.