Air Force Strategic Planner honored by Air Force District of Washington

Published Sept. 23, 2010
By Aletha Frost
AFDW Public Affairs

AIr Force District of Washington -- Air Force Gen. Jacob E. Smart will be honored by the Air Force District of Washington when a center being constructed on Andrews Air Force Base, Md., is named in his honor.

The center will be known as "The Jacob E. Smart Center" and is prominently located at 1359 California Drive.

According to the Air Force Biography website and Air Force Historical Studies Offices, General Smart was a noted pilot in the Army Air Corps during the 1930s. In 1942, General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Commander of U.S. Army Air Forces, appointed General Smart to his special Advisory Council. As a member of this council, he participated as a planning officer at the Casablanca, Washington, and Quebec conferences where Allied leaders made critical decisions affecting the war. He received the Legion of Merit for his service.

General Smart is best-known for planning the long-range, low-level heavy bomber raid on nine German-held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania on August 1, 1943.

Code named "Operation Tidal Wave," the hazardous mission utilized 178 B-24 Liberator bombers based in Libya to fly the 2,000 mile round-trip mission and attack their targets from altitudes as low as 200 feet to maximize accuracy.

The mission significantly reduced the output of the refineries. Five of the fliers earned the Medal of Honor, the most awarded for any single American military action during the war.

General Smart later served as commander of the 97th Bomb Group based in Italy, and his aircraft was shot down while leading a mission in May 1944. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW in Germany.

After the war, General Smart served as the Secretary of the Air Staff and later as Assistant to the Commanding General, USAAF, and in this capacity he became deeply involved in the effort to establish a unified Department of Defense and create an independent U.S. Air Force separate from the U.S. Army in 1947.

During the Korean War, General Smart served as Deputy for Operations for Far East Air Force in Japan and was a principle planner of the air war during that conflict.

And during the early Cold War General Smart served in important positions, including commander of Twelfth Air Force (1959-1960), Fifth Air Force (1960-1963), and Pacific Air Forces (1963-1964).

General Smart retired in 1966, after 35 years of service.

Construction of the structure bearing the general's name began in June 2009. It has more than 45,747 square feet of space and will accommodate more than 800 people at full capacity. The Jacob E. Smart Center will host strategic and transformational planning sessions, allowing national leadership to assemble in a single location to examine and develop doctrine, strategy and policy.

The center is also a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certifiable energy efficient project. Using LEEDS, the facility design incorporates technology, construction and maintenance features that both reduce the impact on the environment and save energy.

When finished, the facility will be the premier Air Force Conference Center, with state-of-the-art video-teleconferencing and information technology capabilities.

The center project is expected to be completed in October 2010. A formal dedication ceremony will take place at that time.