Leighton W . Smith , Jr . Leighton Warren Smith , Jr . KBE , ( born August 20 , 1939 ) is a retired four - star admiral in the United States Navy . In 1994 , he became the Commander in Chief of U . S . Naval Forces Europe and Allied Forces Southern Europe , holding the commands during the height of the Yugoslav wars . He commanded the NATO enacted no - fly zone ( Operation Deny Flight ) over Bosnia and the later bombing campaign against Republika Srpska ( Operation Deliberate Force ) in 1995 . The same year he additionally took on command of the NATO - led Implementation Force ( IFOR ) in Bosnia with the objective of overseeing the peace agreement . He held all three positions until his retirement in 1996 . Early life and education . Smith was born in Mobile , Alabama on August 20 , 1939 , and graduated from the Naval Academy with the Class of 1962 and received his wings in January 1964 . Career . As a naval aviator , Smith flew carrier - based , A - 7 Corsair II light attack jet aircraft during multiple deployments to the Mediterranean , North Atlantic , Western Pacific and Indian Oceans . These included three cruises in waters off North Vietnam where he flew over 280 combat missions , primarily in the A - 7 Corsair II . Smith has held command at sea in the aviation community at squadron and wing levels as well as major commands that included a deep draft vessel , the USS " Kalamazoo " ( AOR - 6 ) , before taking command of the aircraft carrier USS " America " ( CV 66 ) and subsequent command of Carrier Group 6 in 1986 as a flag officer . He has logged over 4 , 200 flying hours and accumulated over 1000 carrier arrested landings . Commands . His early flag officer tours were Director for Operations , U . S . European Command , ( 1989 – 1991 ) and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans , Policy and Operations , ( 1991 – 1994 ) . Appointed to four - star rank in April 1994 , he became Commander in Chief , U . S . Naval Forces Europe and concurrent NATO Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe ( 1994 – 1996 ) . In December 1995 , he assumed , concurrently , command of the NATO - led Implementation Force , ( IFOR ) in Bosnia , a position he held until August 1996 . His IFOR command in Bosnia was criticized by Richard Holbrooke for his refusal to use his " authority " to also perform nonmilitary implementation tasks , including arresting indicted war criminals : Later work . Smith retired from the United States Navy on 1 October 1996 . He is currently serving as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses , is President of Leighton Smith Associates and Vice President of Global Perspectives , Inc . , both international consulting firm s . He is Chairman of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation , immediate past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the U . S . Naval Academy Alumni Association and serves on the Executive Committee of the Association of Naval Aviation . He is also on the National Advisory Council to the Navy League and is a member of the Board of Directors of several corporations . Smith was a supporter of Presidential candidate John McCain during the 2008 United States Presidential Election . Smith spoke out in defense of McCain after critical comments from General Wesley Clark regarding McCain ' s military experience . . Prior to his retirement , Smith had previously served alongside General Clark for several years during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina . Smith is one of the senior signatories of the March 31 , 2009 letter urging the president to maintain the policy excluding homosexuals from the armed forces . References . " Adapted from this biography . "