RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia National Guard Management Group is excited to announce Maj. Gen. Lapthe Flora as the 2021 Virginia National Guard Conference Plenary Speaker.

Flora recently returned to Virginia following an incredibly impactful tour as the Commanding General, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. Based in Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Flora was charged with crisis response, force protection and support countering violent extremist organizations in East Africa by leveraging the flexibility of CJTF-HOA’s strategic location as a critical power projection platform. Flora worked with partner nations, coalition forces and interagency/intergovernmental organizations to promote regional security and lasting peace.

“We are excited to welcome home [Major] General Flora,” said Maj. Andrew J. Czaplicki, Virginia National Guard Association president. “I believe he’ll provide some valuable insight to the dynamic environment overseas and how we can apply what he learned as the Combined Joint Task Force Commander.”

Flora began his military career in 1987 following graduation from the Virginia Military Institute and has since served in multiple command and staff positions within the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the Bowling Green-based 91st Troop command, the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division, and the Richmond-based Joint Force Headquarters – Virginia. During his service, he’s successfully completed four overseas deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Djibouti.

He recently retired from his civilian career after 30 years with Harris Corporation Night Vision division in Roanoke, Virginia. While with Harris, he held multiple positions including Engineering Technician and Process Engineer, Engineering Manager, Engineering Director and Vice President for quality assurance and process improvement. He also holds credentials as a lean six-sigma black belt with decades of image intensification night vision manufacturing and management experience and holds six patent awards related to the AN/PVS-14, AN/AVS-6 and AN/AVS-9 night vision devices.

More notable than his outstanding civilian and military achievements is his origin story. Flora was born in South Vietnam in 1962 to ethnic Chinese parents. His father, a South Vietnamese Merchant Marine, was killed during the Vietnam War in 1964 leaving his wife and six children. In 1975, after the fall of Saigon and working in factories to support his family, he fled Ho Chi Minh City to escape the Hanoi government. He and his family braved the jungle of Vietnam, surviving on snakes, rates, porcupines and vegetation.  In 1979, Flora escaped by boat and after five horrifying days of floating in the South China Sea, they made it to Indonesia.  In 1980, a year and three refugee camps later, Flora immigrated to the United States and was adopted by John and Audrey Flora of Roanoke.

Flora will serve as the capstone plenary speaker during the Joint Education Session of the 4th annual Virginia National Guard Conference held Sept. 18, 2021, at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside in Norfolk, Virginia.

Registration for the conference is open. Prospective attendees visit vngmg.org/2021-vng-conference for information. For conference-related inquiries, please email contact@vngmg.org.

The Virginia National Guard Management Group is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization and serves the greater Virginia National Guard community by providing professional services to the Virginia National Guard Association, the Virginia Army / Air National Guard Enlisted Association, and the Virginia National Guard Historical Foundation. The VNGMG is not endorsed by or legally affiliated with the Virginia National Guard, the National Guard, the Department of Defense, or the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Flora will serve as the capstone plenary speaker during the Joint Education Session of the 4th annual Virginia National Guard Conference held Sept. 18, 2021, at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside in Norfolk, Virginia.
Registration for the conference is open. Prospective attendees visit vngmg.org/2021-vng-conference for information. For conference-related inquiries, please email contact@vngmg.org.