Biography

Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Retired) Thomas Smith is currently employed as the Marine Instructor for Fallbrook Union High School’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC).  He was born in Ontario, California and enlisted into the Marine Corps on September 12th, 1988 after graduating from high school.

He was an avionics technician and crew chief on CH-46E helicopters for 14 ½ years working his way through the enlisted ranks up to Gunnery Sergeant. He participated in humanitarian assistance missions in Kauai after hurricane Iniki and in East Timor after civil unrest. He was then promoted to Warrant Officer in March 2003 and served as an Avionics Officer.

As an Avionics Officer he did tours of duty in six different aviation squadrons over the last eight years of his career. This included two tours to Iraq. He was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 3 in August 2007 and retired from the Marine Corps on October 1st, 2011. On July 26th 2011 he began working as a JROTC Instructor at Beverly High School and served as the Senior Marine Instructor until June 30th 2021. On July 12th 2021 he took over the role as the Marine Instructor at Fallbrook Union High School.  His decorations include Meritorious Service Medal, 1 single mission with a combat V and 4 strike flight Air Medals and other personal decorations for meritorious service.

He is married to Melanie Roth-Smith of Bloomfield, VT and they have two children, Zachary and Alexis Smith