| Michael Smeath | |
| Birth Date: | February df=y |
| Allegiance: | United Kingdom |
| Branch: | Royal Air Force |
| Serviceyears: | 1989–present |
| Rank: | Air Vice-Marshal |
| Commands: | RAF Regiment RAF Honington No. 34 Squadron RAF Regiment |
| Battles: | Gulf War Bosnian War Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
| Awards: | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Air Vice-Marshal Michael John Smeath, (born 2 October 1967) is a senior Royal Air Force officer.
Smeath was born on 2 October 1967 in Woking, Surrey, England.[1] He undertook a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in international studies with the Open University, graduating in 2006.[2] The same year, he completed a Master of Arts degree in war studies via King's College London. He later studied at Deakin University, Canberra, graduating with an MA in strategic studies.[3]
Smeath joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraft propulsion engineer in 1987. He rose to the rank of senior aircraftman, before being selected for officer training in 1990. Having attended the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, he was commissioned on 21 June 1990 as a pilot officer, with seniority in that rank from 15 January 1989. He served as officer commanding No. 34 Squadron RAF Regiment.[4] He went on to be Station Commander at RAF Honington in 2014,[5] Liaison Officer to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in July 2017 and Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff in August 2018.[6] In February 2020 Smeath was appointed Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C., with effect from August 2020.[7] In January 2023, he was appointed director of the Global Defence Network in the Ministry of Defence;[8] as such, he is head of the UK's military attaché world wide network.[9]
Smeath was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 Birthday Honours, and advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2018 New Year Honours.