Lt Col Jocelyn (Dooley) Smith is the Deputy Commander of the 89th Operations Group, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where she oversees the execution and operation of three squadrons and 490 personnel and 19 aircraft, transporting our Nation’s Leaders around the globe. 

Lt Col Smith received her commission in the US Air Force in 2003 when she graduated from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). Following pilot training, Lt Col Smith supported Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as a KC-135 aircraft commander during four deployments and 111 combat missions. She followed that assignment by serving as flight commander and program manager during the development of the Powered Flight Program at USAFA. Additionally, she served as initial cadre and Air Force Materiel Command representation to Cirrus Aircraft Corporation for the USAF acquisition of the T-53 training aircraft. While stationed at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, Lt Col Smith served as Detachment Commander during the deployment of the RC-135S Cobra Ball to the Pacific, executed multiple Open Skies Treaty enforcement missions across Russia and other signatory countries, and completed her time there as Executive Officer to the largest Wing in Air Combat Command. Lt Col Smith was then selectively hired to the 89th Airlift Wing, serving as squadron Director of Operations before volunteering for a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, where she flew 65 combat missions in the E-11 Battlefield Airborne Command Node, before returning to the 89th Airlift Wing as the Deputy Commander, 89th Operations Group.

Before joining the Air Force, Jocelyn discovered her love of flying in the wheat fields of North Dakota, flying in a Cessna 150 with John Erickson, a dairy farmer from Wilton. When she was in high school, she began flying lessons at Capital Aviation in Bismarck, instructed by the legendary Bob Watts. Those lessons paid off at Military pilot training, where she was a distinguished graduate, an honor given to only the top 10% of US Air Force Pilot training graduates.

Lt Col Smith is a Command Pilot with more than 4,500 flight hours and 1,200 combat hours in 12 USAF Aircraft. She plans to retire after 20 years of military service in 2024 and continue her aviation pursuits as a commercial airline pilot.