AUSA Noon Report - Leadership and Cooperation in Action: Allies and Partners in USARCENT/USCENTCOM

LTG Ronald P. Clark
Commanding General, U.S. Army Central Command

CentralLieutenant General Ron Clark was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1988. He began his career as a Rifle Platoon Leader and Scout Platoon Leader in 5th Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division in Germany and in Southwest Asia during OPERATION DESERT SHIELD and OPERATION DESERT STORM. He was next assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii where he commanded B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, and later served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division (Light).After his first tour in the Pacific, Lieutenant General Clark served as the Operations Officer and Executive Officer in 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment at Fort Polk, Louisiana and later served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Lieutenant General Clark continued to serve in key command and staff positions to include Commander of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and in Iraq in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM; the 41st Chief of Infantry Branch at United States Army Human Resources Command; Director of the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic at West Point; Commander of the 192d Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia; the Army’s Deputy Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy in the Pentagon; Deputy Commanding General-Support, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and in Iraq during OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE; and Deputy Chief of Staff-Operations for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in the United Kingdom. Following his tour in Europe, Lieutenant General Clark returned to Hawaii to serve as the Chief of Staff, United States Army Pacific, and as the Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division and the Senior Commander for United States Army Hawaii. Most recently, he served as the Chief of Staff for United States Indo-Pacific Command. In his current role, Lieutenant General Clark serves as the Commanding General of United States Army Central. His civilian education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College Fellowship at Duke University. He is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program. Lieutenant General Clark married his high school sweetheart Simona and they have two adult children.

LTG Guy Swan, U.S. Army Retired
AUSA Vice President, Education

Lieutenant General Guy C. Swan III currently serves as an AUSA Vice President. During more than 35 years of active service he commanded at every level through Army Service Component Command. A career armor/cavalry officer, his general officer assignments included Commanding General, United States Army North/Fifth Army; Commanding General, United States Army Military District of Washington and Commander, Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region; Commanding General, 7th Army Training Command, United States Army Europe/Seventh Army; Chief of Staff and Director of Operations, Multi-National Force-Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom; Director of Operations, United States Northern Command; and Chief of Army Legislative Liaison.

General Swan's other key assignments included Commander, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; Assistant Deputy Director for Strategy and Policy for the Joint Staff; and Deputy Operations Officer for the 1st Armored Division during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

A 1976 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, General Swan holds a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the United States Army's School of Advanced Military Studies. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and was a National Security Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

LTG Leslie Smith
U.S. Army Retired

LTG Leslie C. Smith, USA, Ret., currently serves as the Carter Chair for leadership at Georgia Southern, LV Smith Corporate Group CEO, and on several corporate boards. He received his commission from Georgia Southern University (GSU) in 1983 as a Field Artillery Officer. In 1985, he graduated from GSU with a BS in accounting and as a distinguished military graduate and branched as a chemical officer. His final assignment on active duty (2018–2021) was as The Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the Army; he was the first chemical officer to serve in that position. Other assignments in his career included command of the 83d Chemical Battalion when some of its elements were deploying in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. He was also the 25th Chief of Chemical and Commandant of the United States Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School.