Lieutenant General
William S. Flynn

Lieutenant General William S. Flynn was born in Newport, Rhode Island on November 1936 and graduated from Providence College in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

He began his career as a second lieutenant of Infantry and within 17 months assumed command of an Infantry company at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He began his Ordnance career in 1959, commanding the Maintenance and Service Company, Seneca Army Depot and the 538th Ordnance Company in Alaska. From 1979 to 1982, he commanded the 4th Infantry Division Support Command and in 1982, he became the first Ordnance officer ever selected to be Chief of Staff of the 4th Infantry Division. In 1983, he became Deputy Commander for Combat Development at the U.S. Army Logistics Center, and in 1984, he assumed the duties of Deputy Commanding General for Procurement and Readiness at the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command.

His accomplishements there included establishing a Total Quality Management Program, reducing unissuable materiel by $300 million, reducing contractors requiring special attention from 41 to 13, and and increasing competitive procurements by more than 40 percent. He became Chief of Staff at Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Command in 1986. There he led a management team that solved numerous union disputes and managed the education and training program for the corporate headquarters. In 1987, he took command of the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM). He re-energized the education and training program for employees and substantially improved the quality of life and services to TACOM employees and military families.

Culminating his career, he took command of the 21st Theater Army Area Command, which supported the deployment of an Army corps during Operation Desert Shield and provided logistics support to the Republic of Turkey for Operations Desert Shield and Provide Comfort. General Flynn retired in 1992.