Melissa Dasgupta Smith, Esq.

Lieutenant Colonel Melissa Dasgupta Smith is a seasoned Judge Advocate in the United States Army with extensive experience in military law, operational law, and senior-level legal advisory roles.

A Colorado native, LTC Smith enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1998 and completed Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. While attending the University of Colorado Boulder, she served in the 244th Engineer Battalion as a carpentry and masonry specialist. She later earned an ROTC scholarship and was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer in 2002.

Following an educational delay, LTC Smith graduated from American University Washington College of Law in 2005 and was admitted to the Colorado Bar. She was subsequently commissioned into the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 2006.

Throughout her distinguished career, LTC Smith has held a broad range of legal positions of increasing responsibility across operational, institutional, and strategic assignments. Her experience includes service as a Legal Assistance Attorney and Chief of International and Operational Law with the 2d Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea; Trial Counsel and Brigade Judge Advocate with the 18th Fires Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Chief of Operational Law at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Colorado; Trial Defense Counsel at Fort Carson; and Brigade Judge Advocate for the 82d Combat Aviation Brigade, including deployment in support of operations in Afghanistan.

Her additional assignments include Branch Chief at the U.S. Army Government Appellate Division; Observer, Coach, Trainer with the Mission Command Training Program; Chief of Administrative Law at U.S. Army Special Operations Command; Deputy Chief of Military Law at U.S. Army Forces Command; Officer in Charge of the Camp Humphreys Legal Center in the Republic of Korea; and Associate Deputy General Counsel in the Army Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C.

LTC Smith is a graduate of the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course, the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School Graduate Course, and the Command and General Staff Officer Course. She is authorized to wear the Parachutist Badge and the Space Badge.

She is married to fellow Judge Advocate Graham Smith and is the proud mother of three children.