Lieutenant Colonel Mark Smith is an Assistant
Professor and Academy Professor at the United States
Military Academy, West Point. He holds a Bachelor of
Science degree from Oregon State University in Wild-
life Science, a Master of Science degree from the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin-Madison in Wildlife Ecology, and
a joint Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research inter-
ests involve integrating military training and wildlife
on military lands, and using a systems methodology
toward developing “green” initiatives that improve
West Point. He teaches Environmental Science, En-
vironmental Geology, Environmental Engineering
Technologies, Environmental Decision Making and
Ecology. LTC Smith is an Air Defense officer with ex-
perience in a wide variety of assignments, to include
joint and combined tours with NATO and European
Union forces. LTC Smith has also severed two combat
tours to Iraq (Platoon Leader during DESERT STORM,
and NATO LNO to Multi-National Corps Iraq in sup-
port of the NATO training Mission in Iraq).
Lt. Col. Joseph Knott
Lieutenant Colonel Joe Knott is the Special As-
sistant to the G-4 for Sustainability & Energy at the
National Guard Bureau, responsible for Sustainability
planning and execution for all 54 States and Territo-
ries. Previous assignments include Engineer company
and battalion commands, as well as DA Staff tours at
the Pentagon where he managed the Army’s Compat-
ible Use Buffer program, and as a program manager
in the BRAC office responsible for over $1.3B in mili-
tary construction projects. LTC Knott also initiated
the first-of-its-kind, $700M groundwater investigation