I was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Virginia and Paul Flood. My father was a retired U.S. Postal Service worker, and my mother worked at Hudson’s Department Store in the shoe repair department. Both are now deceased. I have one sister, Colleen. My father was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps. He wanted to be a pilot but had a speech stutter, failed the pilot entrance exam, and instead served as a rear tail gunner on a Mitchell B-25 for four years in the China Theater.

I am currently married to Marie Elene Flood, a retired U.S. Coast Guard veteran with 20 years of service. I met my wife while serving in the Coast Guard, and together we have two children, Patrick and Suzanne.

In 1965, when I was 11 years old, my family moved to Bay City, Michigan. I graduated from Bay City John Glenn High School in 1973. I spent much of my youth hunting pheasants along irrigation ditches in sugar beet fields near our subdivision. I only ever harvested one rooster pheasant and eventually turned to duck hunting at Fish Point in Unionville, where coots were plentiful.

I attended college both before and after my military service, working whenever possible as I was largely on my own. I graduated from Kalamazoo Valley Community College in 1981 with an Associate of Science degree. At the time, good-paying jobs were scarce, and my parents suggested military service as a way to gain employment and additional funding for school.

After separating from the U.S. Navy in 1985, I returned to college and attended Saginaw Valley State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. I also enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserves and used the GI Bill to help fund my education at SVSU.

While serving in the U.S. Navy, I was stationed aboard the USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) as part of the Sixth Fleet, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. During 1983–1984, the ship was part of multinational forces operating off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon. We provided naval gunfire support following the bombing of U.S. Marine and French headquarters. I initially worked in First Division and later transferred to the ship’s office (personnel) to learn the Yeoman rating.

During my Coast Guard service, I was stationed at Reserve Unit Saginaw River, spent two years aboard the USCG Cutter Bristol Bay, and worked in Ohio at Marine Safety Unit Toledo’s Regional Exam Center. I served as Chief Petty Officer Yeoman and supervisor at Coast Guard Sector Detroit’s Reserve Administration and Personnel Office. My final assignment was mobilization for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana, where I worked logistics at Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans. I retired from military service in 2012 with 30 years of combined service.

While serving in the Coast Guard Reserve, I also held a federal civilian position as a Senior Paralegal Specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the U.S. Trustee, Detroit Field Office. I retired from the Department of Justice in 2022.

Since retiring, I have enjoyed spending time with my wife and children and traveling. My wife and I visited Alaska in 2022 and completed a European tour in the summer of 2025.

In my spare time, I play trumpet with the Royal Oak Community Concert Band. My trumpet playing—much like my hunting skills—is one of the few pursuits that has stayed with me throughout the years. I enjoy fishing of all kinds, including walleye fishing on the Detroit River. My wife enjoys panfishing for bluegill and crappie, and we fish throughout the state of Michigan. I also own a drift boat and fish for trout, salmon, and steelhead. I am fortunate that my wife often joins me in my outdoor pursuits.