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Chaplain Colonel (Retired) J. Wesley Smith is a Senior Military Analyst at the American Center for Law and Justice. He served 26 years in the Army, with two combat deployments. Prior to his retirement in 2013 Wesley was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Chaplains (Headquarters Department of the Army) with duty as the Senior Army Chaplain at Dover Air Force Base and the Dover Port Mortuary, as well as the senior-ranking Army Chaplain for over-watch of all Casualty Operations. Wesley organized the first Joint Service Team at the Dover Casualty Mortuary Operations Center. In that assignment, Chaplain Smith also re-designed the Casualty Notification system for the entire Army and was charged with implementing the training Army-wide.
In his military career, he served as a Field Artillery Battalion Chaplain, a Field Hospital Chaplain, a Battalion and Assistant Brigade Chaplain with US Army Aviation, and as the Brigade Chaplain for the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. He served four years as the Religion and Culture Analyst for Army Central Command (ARCENT) where he advised the Commanding General’s staff on the impact of religion and culture on the Army’s mission in the 17 countries in which ARCENT operated.
His military education includes the Chaplain Officer Basic Course, the Chaplain Officer Advanced Course, Combined Armed Services Staff School, The Chaplain Colonels Course, and the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Chaplain Smith holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity Degree from Vanderbilt University, and the Doctor of Ministry Degree from the University of the South at Sewanee. He received his Master’s Degree in Law with a focus in National Security from Regent University. He is an Episcopal Priest affiliated with the Diocese of Atlanta.
Among his awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Meritorious Unit Citation, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with the numeral 3, the Saudi Arabia Liberation of Kuwait Medal and the Kuwait Liberation of Kuwait Medal.
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly recently to keep the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, with only three Senators voting against establishing funding to maintain the diplomatic mission. The amendment approved by 97 Senators effectively makes the embassy relocation permanent. As an amendment to...
As the Scriptures instruct us, we have spent the days since the presidential inauguration praying for our nation and its leaders, including President Joe Biden. We will continue to pray for the President. His inaugural address to the nation included a call for healing and unity—something much...
President Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, faces a number of critically important issues as he assumes office this week. The Left and members of Biden’s inner circle continue to call for him to reverse many of the Trump Administration’s policies and to fundamentally change many...
Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to flesh out his cabinet. His choices are essentially the Obama Administration 2.0. The Obama years of a depleted military, expansive federal regulations, weak border security, and a stagnant economy appear to be fully embraced by a Biden Administration.
Two weeks ago, Iran’s top military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed by unknown attackers in an upscale village near the capital of Tehran. A senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Fakhrizadeh was the brain and the passion behind Iran’s pursuit of nuclear...
On behalf of the Trump Administration, acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller announced last week a significant withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. While it is the fulfillment of a promise by President Trump to stop the endless wars in which the United States has been entangled,
Just when you thought there was great progress for peace in the Middle East, and as Iran is feeling the pinch of sanctions and isolation from the civilized world—enter Team Biden. Amos Hochstein , a senior aide to then-Vice President Biden and one who oversaw energy sanctions for Iran during the...
Today is Veterans Day. Formerly known as Armistice Day, this holiday was originally created to commemorate the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. That war was referred to as the “war to end all wars.” That was a thoughtful and hopeful wish—albeit unrealistic.
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