Ronnie J. Smith is a writer, poet, and aviator. His poetry has appeared in The New York Times, The Wisconsin Review, and The Evansville Review, among others.
Col. Smith was the in-theater commander of operation DEEP FREEZE, the 13th Air Force-led Joint Task Force in support of the U.S. Antarctic Program, commanding the military mission for both air and sealift operations. His earlier work and training in the remotes of Greenland set the stage for the challenges encountered in the Antarctic wastelands. In a very real sense, he has come face to face with the harsh realties of the extreme climate and the dangers of the polar regions; living and working, flying and adventuring over the last 13 years.
He was born in Udine, Italy to U.S. Air Force parents and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Ron attended Loyola University in Maryland
(B.A. in Sociology) and played semi-pro basketball in Europe before entering the Maryland Air National Guard in 1983 to fly C-130 cargo transport aircraft. He traveled the world as a professional aviator, flying into areas as diverse as famine-stricken Somalia, war-torn Bosnia, and the jungles of South and Central America. In 1996 he joined the 109th Airlift Wing in Scotia, NY, the New York Air National Guard. There he flew LC-130 aircraft, specialized ski-equipped cargo transport planes that operate on the sea ice, snow, and ice fields of Greenland and Antarctica. He later served 4 years as the liaison between the Pentagon and the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs. He currently resides in St. Louis, MO.
Upcoming events include collaborations of poetry with the arts and science through the media of sculpture, painting and photography. Ron has also embarked upon writing a new adventure tale based on his work in the polar climes, in addition to a manuscript of polar poetry just completed.
Col. Smith at the Geographic South Pole
New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clark, and Mr. Hargreaves with Col. Smith on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's Scott Base
Scott Base, Antarctica
Out of the Office
Disclaimer: Nothing on this website is intended to represent the views of the U.S. Air Force.
In the News...
New comments by Col. Smith in:
The N.Y.Times: Worker at South Pole Station Pushes for a Rescue After a Stroke
OurAmazingPlanet.com: Why Rescue Missions in Antarctica Are So Hard
Ron Smith’s latest book
Poems from the Polar Circles
is now available on most reading apps, including Apple iBooks iPhone & iPad, and at these links: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Diesel eBook. Kobo and Sony links expected, and will be posted shortly.
New interview with Ron Smith on his philosophy about writing at www.valentinetti.com.
Ron Smith is Committee Chair of the highly acclaimed art exhibition:
"Icons in Transformation"
a 180-piece show of contemporary art and traditional iconography by Ludmila Pawlowska coming to Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis, October 30 2011 through January 15, 2012. www.cathedralicons.org
Ron has written a poem
for and inspired by this exhibition.
Ron consulted and has contributed the poem "The Only Road," to the book by Lynne Cox,
South with the Sun.
Now available on
Amazon.
National Geographic Magazine
"Dog and Pony, Sled Dog Memorial in the Sky"
April 2011 Issue
Loyola Magazine.
"Polar Poetry: Alumnus Ron Smith is Inspired by Antarctica"
"Antarctica makes a psychological impact on you with its beauty & its brutality, which are always in a dance together."
Read Loyola article By Bo Schwerin 3/16/11.
"Polar Sidekicks Earn a Place on the Map"
Sled Dog Memorial in the Sky. Two years ago, Ron Smith started a project to honor the sled dogs and ponies that carried Roald Amundsen & Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole.
Read NYTimes article 9/27/10.
By John Noble Wilford
Sec of State Hillary Clinton...
The two year project of creating an aeronautical chart for the Antarctic memorializing the sled dogs and ponies of the 1911-12 expeditions that discovered the South Pole culminated with the presentation of the chart by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to “The People of New Zealand” on 5 Nov 2010. Read news 11/8/10 article
Secretary of State Clinton video
"Museum of the Dog"
The chart was also presented to the Museum of the Dog, St Louis, MO on Nov 2, 2010 by Maj Gen Susan Desjardins and Col Ronnie Smith on behalf of the Air Mobility Command. Additionally, it will be used to present to other countries connected with polar exploration in the form of furthering good will and cooperation. Read 11/8/10 article
Photo courtesey of Charles Schmitz
"Sled Dogs Finally Have Their Day"
Air Force Colonel Ron Smith's plan to honor the unsung heroes & heroines of Antarctic exploration finally comes to fruition. Read RiverFront Times article.
"Polar Ponies and Ice Dogs"
NYTimes editorial on the new air route waypoints to Antarctica renamed after the dogs and ponies used during the great race to the South Pole in 1911/12.
Read NYTimes editorial.
"All There Is Is White"
St. Louis Magazine, January 2010.
A colonel at Scott Air Force Base spent years commanding Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica—and the place turned him into a poet.
Read entire article.
By Jeannette Cooperman
"Poetry in a Cold Climate"
Ron Smith found his muse in Antartica's vast icy wilderness.
Read RiverFront Times article.
By Aimee Levitt