Ken Smith was commissioned as a Lieutenant of Infantry in 1963. Following Basic, Ranger and Airborne Training, he served 3 years in the 3rd Armored Division (then in Germany) and joined the 173d Airborne Brigade in March 1967.

During his assignment with the Herd, he served as S-3 of 2-503, commanded A/2-503 and formed and commanded D/2-503. He subsequently served as S-3 of the 2-1 Infantry, 196th Infantry brigade, in 1971-1972.

Ken served as an Assistant Professor of History at West Point, commanded a Basic Training Battalion at Fort Leonard Wood, served on the NATO (Izmir Turkey) staff, and did multiple tours in the Pentagon on the Army and Joint staffs

Following his retirement in 1993, he worked 9 years as a Nuclear Waste Cleanup planner at the Department of Energy and 5 years as the Arabian Gulf Desk Officer in the Diplomatic Security Service’s Antiterrorism Assistant Program. He is past President of the 173d Airborne Brigade Association (1995-1999) and currently serves as the Honorary Colonel of the 503d Infantry Regiment.