Outgoing U.S. Army Pacific commander reflects on tour of duty: ‘I want to thank Hawaii’

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – After serving more than three years as commander of U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), Gen. Charles Flynn will step down Friday, Nov. 8.

He took command of the U.S. Army’s largest service component command in June 2021.

“One of the most challenging things about this command is the variations of the environment and conditions that exist across Asia,” Flynn said.

While the general is charming and engaging, he is also a battle-proven soldier, as indicated by the tabs on his chest, combat infantry, airborne, air assault, and pathfinder. Gen. Flynn is a mix of two worlds, military and diplomacy.

“There are a lot of tough decisions to be made in the coming years on a range of topics, but I think at the end of the day, that there is this trust and relationship and conversation and transparency and truth that comes from looking after one another, and caring for one another is really important,” he said.

Flynn has worked on building that trust on three fronts. First, he says, it comes to respecting the aina and the indigenous people of the islands.

“Being here and being respectful of what we are able to do, and being respectful of the people, the land, and the water, and all that goes with it is, again, that’s really an important part of actually being here,” he said.

Second, Flynn says, is building trust with other nations, like Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, and Australia, as seen at the recent Land Forces Pacific of LANPAC Symposium.

USARPAC‘s area of operations covers half the globe and consists of 36 nations and six of the world’s 10 largest armies.

“There is an automatic matching, if you will, of our ability to train here in Hawaii and then the ability to transfer that training, and advise, assist and enable the other armies in the region to improve. We are and remain the gold standard,” he said.

And third, the trust of the American people on ensuring U.S. Army soldiers are prepared for whatever missions they are called on to do.

“Our ability to train here and be able to train in the areas that we have access to here on Oahu and, of course, the Pohakuloa training area, what that really translates into is a degree of readiness that we can then bring into the region to do the things that we have to do with allies and partners in the region that are in those same environments,” he said.

As his time in command comes to an end, Gen. Flynn leaves with a grateful heart and will miss working with his soldiers in Hawaii.

At the same time, he will also miss the beauty of the islands and other aspects of life here.

“I am going to miss my relationships and friends. I’m also going to miss surfing, I do love surfing,” Gen. Flynn said.

“I want to thank Hawaii. I want to thank the people,” he said.

Flynn will relinquish his command to Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark Friday at a ceremony on Fort Shafter.

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