Linda Caulder Smith (b. 1955), of Lumberton, North Carolina, served in the United States Air Force from 1974 to 1994. Linda Caulder Smith was born 7 July 1955 in Lumberton, North Carolina, but grew up in the small town of Tar Heel, where, as a child, she worked on her grandfather's farm harvesting peanuts and tobacco. After graduating from Tar Heel High School in 1974, and with a desire to escape farm life, Smith enlisted in the United States Air Force. Smith attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, after which she was sent to Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois to learn about jet engine mechanics. Smith then received orders to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where she worked on Lockheed C-5 engines. After experiencing back problems because of the heavy lifting her job required, Smith was processed out of the jet engine shop and began cross-training as a dental assistant. In 1976, as a result of there being an overflow of dental assistants at Dover Air Force Base, Smith received orders to Bitburg Air Base in Germany, where she assisted an oral maxillofacial surgeon, and received operating room training. She also spent every opportunity she could traveling through Europe, to places such as Switzerland, Paris, and Spain. While in Germany she reenlisted with the United States Air Force. In 1979, Smith left Germany for Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center in San Antonio, where she worked in the oral surgery clinic. In [1981?], while attending Non-Commissioned Officer training at [Kirtland Air Force Base?] in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Smith met her first husband. They were married and she transferred to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where he was stationed. She had her first child in 1983. Smith's husband then received orders to Wilford Hall back in San Antonio, they moved, and she returned to her previous job in the oral surgery clinic. She had her second child in 1985. In 1986, Smith and her husband received orders to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where they subsequently divorced. In 1987, Smith transferred to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. While there she was notified she would be deploying for Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm, and left in August 1987. She landed at King Fahd Air Force Base and was instructed to assist with the building of a hospital there. She returned to the United States in late March 1988. In July 1992, it was announced that Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was closing, and Smith transferred to Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where she met her future husband, Jeffrey, who was retired from the military. At Holloman Air Force Base Smith worked with data automation. She retired from the air force in 1994, moved back to North Carolina, and began work as a civilian dental hygienist.
