ROCK OF THE YEAR
ROCK OF THE YEAR
FOR 1999
Colonel DONALD A. TAPSCOTT
U.S. Army, Retired
Don Tapscott, a founder and lifetime ROCK member, joined the U.S. Army as a Private in 1961, and retired as a Colonel in 1983. During his military career, he commanded: “B” Company “The Old Guard”; “B” Company 4th Battalion 23rd Infantry (Mech.), RVN; Detachment B-16, 1st Mobile Strike Force, 5th Special Forces Group, RVN; 1st Battalion 58th Inf. (Mech.), 197th Inf. Brigade; 5th Battalion 31st Inf., 197th Inf. Brigade; and the 1st Battalion 327th Inf., 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division. He served as an Assignments Officer in Infantry Branch, and as the Division Chief Professional Development Division, Enlisted Personnel Directorate, MILPERCEN. He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and, following graduation from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, he served as an advisor to the Saudi Arabian Army. While on Active Duty, Colonel Tapscott completed his BA Degree in Economics (Park College), MA in Personnel Management (Central Michigan), and MS in Resource Management (George Washington University).
After retirement, Don founded Materials Modification Inc. (MMI), a material science R&D company and has served as its President and CEO since 1986. He helped establish and served as a member of the ROCKs ROTC Outreach Program. In addition to MMI, he and COL Robert Warren formed and have run a non-profit corporation, The Partnership for Advanced Technology Training (PATT). In 1998 he served as the President of the Retired Military Officers Association (RMOA). Colonel Tapscott and his lovely wife of thirty-four years, Jean, have two children: 1st Lieutenant Andrew Tapscott (an Army Apache Pilot) and Dr. Denia Tapscott (an Intern at the Houston Medical Center).
ROCK OF THE YEAR
FOR 1999
Major General ISAAC D. SMITH
U.S. Army, Retired
Major General Isaac Smith is a native of Wakefield, Louisiana. Upon completion of the Reserve Officers Training Corps curriculum and the educational course of study at Southern University A&M College, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and awarded a B.S. in Agriculture. He has a Masters degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg State College. His military education includes completion of the Field Artillery School, Basic and Advance Courses; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and the U.S. Army War College.
He has held a wide variety of important command and staff positions to include Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, U.S. Army, Europe and Seventh Army; Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Intelligence, Allied Forces Central Europe; Chief, Doctrine and Systems Integration Division, Requirements Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.; Chief, Reserve Forces Division, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), Washington, D.C.; Commanding General, U.S. Army Second Reserve Officer Training Corps Region, Fort Knox, Kentucky; and Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army Europe.
During the past four years, MG Smith has headed the ROCKS ROTC Enhancement Program. This program was designed to improve the quality and output of ROTC students from historically black colleges and universities. Specifically, he analyzed the issues through working with ROTC cadet command and ROTC units. He then organized the General Officers of the ROCKS to work with specific universities. He got the Army leadership focused on the problem through briefings and visits. He traveled to ROTC summer camps, initially at his own expense. The value of his work has been recognized by TRADOC which funded his travel as well as travel of teams to universities to work on this issue. His work is making a difference now and into the future.
His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), and the Army Commendation Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), and the Army General Staff Identification Badge.
He is married to the former Mildred L. Pierre and they have two children, Debra and Ronald.
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