Captain Kevin M. Smith

Captain Kevin Smith was a Top Gun training pioneer during his distinguished twenty-five-year career in the United States Navy. Smith’s squadron provided advanced close-in-air-combat training for the initial deployment of the highly advanced F-14 Tomcat aboard the USS Constellation. For this record setting deployment, Captain Smith received several awards and commendations, including a Seventh Fleet Citation. After retiring from the Navy, Captain Smith headed up the Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) initiative to redesign airline pilot training, now utilized by every U.S. airline; consulted with Lockheed on the design of the F-22 Raptor crew station; and worked as a commercial airline pilot. He is also a speaker and author, specializing in critical thinking.