Alfred K. Flowers

Major General Alfred K. Flowers is an author and senior strategic advisor for a San Antonio minority-owned business. He is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Budget where he was responsible for $170 billion dollars of Air Force funds.

Following high school graduation, he enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of seventeen. After completing basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas, he was assigned as a supply warehouseman at Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota, followed by a year at Da Nang AB, Vietnam (as well as five other assignments prior to 1975). He received his A.A. degree from Thomas Edison University, B.S. Degree from Southern Illinois University, and Master’s Degrees from Ball State and The National Defense University. In 1978 after thirteen years of enlisted service, he attended Officer Training School where he was a distinguished graduate and commissioned a Second Lieutenant. He served as a budget officer at several Air Force bases; Chief of Budget at Headquarters Air Combat Command; Director of Budget Programs at HQ USAF; and Chief Financial Officer, HQ Air Education, and Training Command at The United States Special Operations Command, J-8. He Commanded the Holms Center at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, and The Second Air Force at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. In 2009, he was appointed as The Deputy Assistant Secretary of budget in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. On 1 January 2012, after forty-six years and five months of service, he retired from the United States Air Force, making him the longest-serving airman in Air Force history, the longest serving African American in defense history, and the longest serving continuous active duty member in the history of The United States Department of Defense.

His military recognitions include two Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (plus seventeen other decorations). He previously served on the board of directors for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Air Force Aid Society, and the Air Force Services Agency, and is currently serving on six boards as Vice Chairman and director. Major General (R) Flowers was inducted into the Air Education and Training Command “Order of The Sword” on April 6, 2012, making him the 224th Air Force inductee since 1967. He was also inducted into “The Order of The Long Leaf Pine” by the Governor of North Carolina in August 2016. Additionally, he was recognized by the Air Force Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award September 2018.