Kevin M. Smith is an aviator, author and speaker and a recognized expert in the field of critical thinking. Captain Smith’s distinguished military career included holding the positions of squadron commander deployed in the USS Constellation, senior instructor pilot, “top gun” instructor, and recognized expert in air combat operations. Captain Smith has over four thousand hours of military flight time, mostly in supersonic front-line fighters. During his airline career Captain Smith attained captain qualifications in all modern Boeing airliners, including the ultra-modern B-777. He was a line check captain in the B-767 Fleet. Over the course of a forty-year flying career, Captain Smith accumulated more than twenty-five thousand flight hours. Assigned as the chairman of a government sponsored blue ribbon task force, Captain Smith was directly responsible for the top-down redesign of airline pilot training programs for all U.S. airline carriers. This effort represented the first successful attempt to develop targeted training programs designed to improve the critical thinking skills for airline pilots. Captain Smith is the author of the Commitment to Reason four-book series which addresses critical thinking in new and innovative ways. Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, book one is available nationally, book two is in press and will be available in the spring of 2015. A companion workbook is also in production, and books three and four will be available in 2016. Captain Smith has received numerous military awards including the prestigious Meritorious Unit Commendation recognizing his exceptional performance as squadron commander. He holds degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics, and is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Aviation Academy. Captain Smith is currently the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Aviation Systems, Operations, and Training , published by IGI-Global.
