It is not everyday that a Clear Lake graduate becomes a colonel in the Army, but for a 1997 alum, it is only one on a long list of accomplishments.
Colonel Kyle Smith now holds the title of Commander of the 1984th United States Army Hospital Detachment 1.
His parents, Tim and Nancy Smith, joined Kyle in Alaska for his promotion ceremony.
“In large part, his duties are [in the] area of hospital administration,” Tim said. “That covers Alaska, Hawaii and some of the other little islands in the Pacific.”
After graduating from CLHS, Col. Smith went on to attend Wheaton College in the Chicago area for a biology degree that he completed in 2001. Then, looking at graduate school, he joined the army.
“That was so that they would pay for his graduate school and then he had an initial three year obligation,” Tim said.
Col. Smith achieved his goal, going to Pacific University in Portland, Oregon, obtaining a doctorate of optometry in 2005 and continuing his stint with the Army.
His first assignment was at West Point in New York for a year, then a year in South Korea. He spent intermediate times in Miami and San Antonio, each less than a year before he was stationed in Germany from 2007 to 2013.
During that time, around 2011, he was deployed to Iraq as a commander of a medical battalion.
“It was a little worrisome when he was in Iraq,” Tim said. “He would have to go out on triage sessions after there’d been a battle or some kind of medical incident. It wasn’t just a cushy desk job or something like that. He was actually in the thick of it a few times.”
When Col. Smith graduated from optometry school, he went in to the army as a captain. Then, while in Iraq, he received a field promotion to Major and, after returning stateside, he received a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel prior to his now title of Colonel.
For his time in Iraq, Col. Smith was also awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service as commander of the 167th Medical Detachment and for providing mobile eye care to approximately 50,000 U.S. and allied service members and to detainees in the Military Police detention center.
While these military accomplishments are looked upon highly, they are not the only accomplishments Col. Smith has achieved.
He and his wife, Erika, have run marathons on every continent, including Antarctica, Col. Smith has climbed both Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Fuji and has ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
“I think he’s outgrown some of that though,” Tim said.
But that didn’t stop the family, including Col. Smith and Erika’s two children, Quincey, 11, and Thatcher, 9, from taking a glacier hike with Tim when he was out for a visit.
Col. Smith lives in Eagle River, Alaska, with his family, as part of the Army Reserves. He is also in a private optometry practice in Anchorage, Alaska, and does his military duties part time.
