Michael Thomas Flynn is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General who served the nation with honor and distinction in various significant assignments for thirty-three years.
One of nine siblings, Michael was born to Charles Francis Flynn and Helen Frances (née Andrews) in Middletown, Rhode Island, on December 24, 1958. He attended local grammar and high schools. The Flynn family had a long tradition of serving in the armed forces. His younger brother, Charles, also attained the rank of general.
Flynn attended the University of Rhode Island, where he was awarded a three-year ROTC scholarship. In 1981, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Management Science and was a Distinguished Military Graduate. In that same year, he married Lori Andrade, the daughter of a prominent Portuguese family on Aquidneck Island.
Michael’s early Army assignments took him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, numerous times with the famed 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps. He requested deployment for Operation Urgent Fury, the 1983 invasion of Grenada. While serving there, he saved two soldiers struggling in the surf and unable to swim ashore. Flynn would serve five years in direct combat operations in multiple theaters of war, ranging from conventional military to Airborne and Special Operations Forces. As he rose in rank, so too did the scope and importance of his assigned duties. He served as the director of intelligence for the Joint Special Operations Command from July 2004 to June 2007, working closely with Forces Commander General Stanley McChrystal to streamline intelligence operations and increase the tempo of operations, thereby weakening the networks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Flynn was assigned to the U.S. Central Command from June 2007 to July 2008 and then served as director of intelligence for international forces in Afghanistan.
In April 2012, Barack Obama nominated Flynn to be the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He retired from the Army on August 7, 2014 and began public life as an advisor to five Republican presidential candidates as a national security and foreign policy expert. He was appointed and briefly served as National Security Advisor to President Trump. Amid a tumultuous period of political accusations, involving improper contact with Russian officials and making false statements to the FBI, Flynn resigned as the National Security Adviser on February 13, 2017. He cited concerns of personal financial ruin and legal difficulties for his family if he did not step down. After much legal wrangling, court motions, and other proceedings, President Trump pardoned Flynn on November 25, 2020. Considerable actions and time lie ahead before all the details of the Flynn case might be determined. Still, it appears he was the victim of a partisan, politically inspired hoax, and the so-called “Russian collusion” on which it was based has been proven to be false.
Flynn has gone on to serve in various civic, business, and nonprofit roles. He is a national best-selling author, has three master’s degrees, and an honorary doctorate from the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. He is the recipient of military awards and service tabs, including four Bronze Stars, five Meritorious Service Medals, the Legion of Merit, Master Parachutist Badge, and Army Ranger tab. He is also the recipient of numerous national and international awards from federal, state, and local law enforcement, all recognizing excellence in leadership, security, humanitarian, veteran, and other benevolent causes.
Currently, General Flynn resides in Florida, and in May 2025, he received further vindication when President Trump appointed him to the oversight board of the U.S. Military Academy.
He was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2025.