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COL Heather Smigowski, B.A.’98
Chair, Department of Distance Education, U.S. Army War College

Colonel Heather Smigowski is an Army Strategist (FA59) and serves as the chair for the Department of Distance Education at the U.S. Army War College.

Prior to her current position, Colonel Smigowski was a politico-military planner and the executive assistant to the deputy director for Africa, Joint Staff Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (J-5), Pentagon. Other strategic assignments include senior training program analyst with the Department of the Army, Pentagon; strategic planner for the Commander’s Planning Group, U.S. Army Training Doctrine and Command; deputy of the Human Dimension Task Force, U.S. Army Capabilities Integration Center; and executive assistant for the director of joint training/J-7, U.S. Joint Forces Command.

Commissioned as an intelligence officer, Colonel Smigowski’s intelligence assignments include XVIII Airborne Corps, Multi-National Corps—Iraq; National Military Joint Intelligence Center, Joint Staff J-2, Pentagon; 2^nd Infantry Division, South Korea; 3^rd Infantry Division, Bosnia-Herzegovina and 50^th Signal Battalion, Fort Bragg. She was also a Department of Defense civilian working as a counter-terrorism intelligence analyst with the Joint Intelligence Task Force—combating terrorism and acting as a liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Colonel Smigowski received a Bachelor of Arts from ÃÛÌÒÉçÇø Michigan University and holds master’s degrees from Clayton College of Natural Health, Regent University and the U.S. Army War College. In 2015, she received her Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Capella University. Colonel Smigowski also serves as an army research fellow at the Arroyo Center within the RAND Army Research Division. Her research follows qualitative methods and focuses on leadership development, learning effectiveness and organizational efficiencies.

Colonel Smigowski’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Basic Parachutist Badge, Army Service Identification Badge and Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge.