Smith's shore tours include service as the operations non-commissioned officer at the United States Defense Attaché Office in Moscow, Russia; on the Chief of Naval Operations' staff as the senior enlisted for the intelligence community; as the CMC for the Office of Naval Intelligence; as the OPNAV Staff's command master chief in Washington, DC; as the United States Naval Academy's command master chief in Annapolis, and most recently as the fleet master chief, Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education in January 2017.[3]
In February 2022, it was made public that Smith was under investigation by the Naval Inspector General for unspecified misconduct.[4][5]
On 22 April 2022, he visited the carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) after several crew members had committed suicide over the previous ten months, including three in one week earlier in the month. The ship has been at Newport News for a major mid-life overhaul since 2017, and many of the crew have reported life aboard the ship difficult due to the construction-like atmosphere, and the lengthy commute some of them must take daily. After meeting with the crew, several of them reported feeling unsatisfied with the responses from Smith to their concerns.[6]
He vacated the MCPON office on September 8, 2022 to Fleet Master Chief James Honea.[7]