Charles A. Flynn (born ) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who last served as the commanding general of

United States Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command which serves as the Army service component for United States Indo-Pacific Command. It may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The command has forces in Alas ...

from 2021 to 2024. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Training (G3/5/7) of the Army Staff from 2019 to 2021. He is the younger brother of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Michael T. Flynn,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's first National Security Advisor.

Background

Flynn was raised in

Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown." History Issue ...

, and graduated from Middletown High School in 1981. Flynn received his commission via the

Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

in 1985. He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Marketing from the University of Rhode Island in 1985.

Military career

Flynn received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in National Security and Strategic Studies from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

in 1997 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy from the Joint Advanced Warfighting School within the

Joint Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

. At the start of his career, Flynn became qualified as an

Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

officer. In addition, he completed the Ranger, Airborne, and

Pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

courses. His early assignments included: commander of A Company, 4th Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment and commander of A Company 2nd Battalion,

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

. He also served as operations officer (S-3) of 1st Battalion,

27th Infantry Regiment The 27th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Wolfhounds", is an infantry regiment of the United States Army established in 1901, traditionally aligned with the 25th Infantry Division for more than 8 decades. It served in the Philippine–Americ ...

and 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. Flynn subsequently commanded 2nd Battalion,

504th Infantry Regiment The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was f ...

, which included deployment for

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. He deployed to Iraq again as commander of

1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division is an active Airborne Brigade of the United States Army. History Lineage and honors Lineage * Constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as Headquarters Troop, 82d Division * Organize ...

. He later served as executive assistant to the Director of the Joint Staff and executive officer for the commander of

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

, United States Forces – Afghanistan. Flynn went on to serve as director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence (MCCOE) and acting commander of the

United States Army Combined Arms Center The U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (USACAC) is located at Fort Leavenworth and provides leadership and supervision for leader development and professional military and civilian education; institutional and collective training; functional training ...

. As Flynn advanced through the general officer ranks, he served as the 82nd Airborne Division's deputy commander for operations and assistant operations officer for readiness (G-3/5/7) for

United States Army Forces Command The United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest command of the United States Army. It provides land forces to the Department of Defense's unified combatant commands. FORSCOM is headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and ...

. He commanded the 25th Infantry Division from 2014 to 2016, then was assigned as deputy commander of

. He next served as assistant deputy chief of staff for operations (G-3/5/7) at Headquarters Department of the Army. In June 2019, Flynn was assigned as deputy chief of staff for operations (G3/5/7). USARPAC Change of Command 210604-A-UB287-795

USARPAC Change of Command 210604-A-UB287-795

On 30 November 2020, his nomination for promotion to

was submitted to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and was confirmed by voice vote of the full Senate on 20 December 2020. On 25 January 2021, the Department of Defense named Flynn as the next commander of the

Fort Shafter Fort Shafter is a census-designated place Page 4/ref> located in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i. It is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exceptio ...

in Honolulu. He assumed that command in a change of command ceremony at

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

on 4 June 2021. Flynn retired in 2024. In June 2024, Flynn was appointed an honorary

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

, for distinguished service in fostering and deepening the military relationship between Australia and the United States of America.

U.S. Capitol attack

During the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months after his defea ...

, a conference call took place between Capitol police, D.C. officials, and Pentagon officials. In that call, the Chief of the Capitol police made "an urgent, urgent immediate request for National Guard assistance", telling them he needed "boots on the ground". However, Lieutenant General Walter E. Piatt, Director of the Army Staff, said he could not recommend the request be approved. Initially denying his involvement, the Army later confirmed that Flynn had participated in the phone call, although it claimed he cannot remember if he said anything on the critical call about deploying National Guard, but others on the call reported hearing his voice. In early December 2021, Colonel

Earl G. Matthews Earl G. Matthews is an American government official and attorney who held senior positions within the Department of the Army and at the White House during the administration of President Donald Trump. Matthews was a member of Trump's Department o ...

released a memo that accused Flynn of making willful distortions of the events of 6 January, describing Flynn and Piatt as "absolute and unmitigated liars" and of giving “perjured testimony before Congress”. Charles Flynn's role drew scrutiny in light of his brother Michael's recent calls for martial law and a redo election overseen by the military.

Awards and decorations

;Other awards

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Charles 1960s births Living people University of Rhode Island alumni Naval War College alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Middletown, Rhode Island Military personnel from Rhode Island Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Honorary officers of the Order of Australia