Capt. Michael Flynn is the Operations Officer and Associate Conductor of the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa Band, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He serves as functional alternate commander of a 49 – member unit and oversees 5 administrative sections in the execution of over 250 missions per year across USAFE-AFAFRICA’s 104-nation area of responsibility.
Capt. Flynn earned his commission and was a distinguished graduate from Officer Training School in 2019 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Prior to his commission as an officer in the USAF, Capt. Flynn was a university professor in academia as the Director of Bands and Brass Instruction at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison, CO, Director of Bands at Sheridan College, Sheridan Wyoming, and Director of Bands and Western Music Specialist at the Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim National Conservatory of Music located in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Israel. Prior to his current position, he was the Operations Officer and Associate Conductor for the United State Air Force Academy Band, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.
Capt. Flynn maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician and has led performances in 35 countries. He also conducted the first ever performance of both the First Suite and Second Suite for Military Band by Gustav Holst in Bethlehem and Ramallah, Israel, and in Damascus, Syria during a concert tour in 2011. As an orchestral trumpet player, Capt. Flynn has performed with symphonies and bands across the globe under conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Daniel Barenboim, Marin Alsop, Eduardo Marturet, Jeff Tyzik, Jerry Junkin, Frank Batisti, Eugene Corporon, and Garry Green. In addition to his Doctorate in Trumpet Performance, Capt. Flynn is currently on track to complete his second doctorate in Wind Conducting at the University of Southern Mississippi.
EDUCATION
2004 Bachelor of Music Education, Mansfield University, Mansfield, Pa.
2007 Master of Music, Trumpet Performance, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.
2010 Doctor of Musical Arts, Trumpet Performance and Conducting, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.
2019 Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021 Public Affairs and Communication Strategy Qualification Course, Defense Information School, Ft. Meade, Md.
2025 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
- December 2019 – July 2022, Flight Commander and Associate Conductor, USAF Band of the West, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
- October 2020 – April 2021, Officer in Charge, United States Air Force Air Forces Central Command Band, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
- July 2022 – July 2025, Operations Officer and Associate Conductor, United States Air Force Academy Band, Peterson Space Force Base, Colo.
- July 2025 – Present. Operations Officer and Associate Conductor, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa Band, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Air and Space Commendation Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Expeditionary Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2019 Distinguished Graduate, Officer Training School
2021 Company Grade Officer of the Year, Air Education and Training Command
2022 Company Grade Officer of the Year, Headquarters United States Air Force Academy
OCCUPATIONAL BADGES
Band
Public Affairs
PUBLICATIONS
“Beyond Your Band, A Path to better Conducting,” Windsong, October 2025.
“Queen Mab in Shakespeare’s France: Berlioz’s Scherzetto and Scherzo in Roméo et Juliette’,” Shakespeare Survey, November 2024.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant December, 2019
First Lieutenant December 2021
Captain December 2023
(Current as of October 2025)