Sgt. Maj. Lauren T.S. Flores is a native of New Jersey/Pennsylvania and enlisted in the United States Army as a Mortuary Affairs Specialist in 2006.
She first served in the 111th Quartermaster Company - Mortuary Affairs, 530th Combat Sustainment and Support Battalion, 49th Group as a Mortuary Affairs Sergeant (Squad Leader), Armed Forces Medical Examiner Autopsy/Embalming technician, and Assistant Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, forward, of Baghdad International Airport Mortuary Affairs Collection Point in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Flores’ subsequent assignments include Team Sergeant in the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command for 12 recovery missions, six to Vietnam, three to Laos, and one each to South Korea, Cambodia, and Germany; Senior AIT Platoon Sergeant in the 262nd Quartermaster Battalion, 23rd Quartermaster Brigade; Senior Mortuary Affairs Noncommissioned Officer for the 25th Infantry Division; Worldwide Operations Center Noncommissioned Officer in Charge at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency; and First Sergeant of the 111th Quartermaster Company - Mortuary Affairs, 10th Transportation Battalion, 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary.
After graduating the Sergeants Major Academy, Flores was assigned as the Operations Sergeant Major for the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade, the Assistant Commandant of the Logistics Noncommissioned Officer Academy at the Army Sustainment University, and the Chief Mortuary Noncommissioned Officer at the Joint Mortuary Affairs Center, United States Army Quartermaster School. In May of 2025, Flores was assigned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as the Senior Enlisted Advisor, the first female to occupy the position since the establishment of the modern-day accounting mission.
Flores’ military education includes but is not limited to Basic Leader Course, Commandant’s List; Equal Opportunity Leaders Course; Advanced Leader Course, Distinguished Honor Graduate; Master Resilience Training Course; SHARP Certification Course; Senior Leader Course, Distinguished Honor Graduate; Master Leader Course, Commandant’s List; and the Sergeants Major Academy Class 73, Commandant’s List. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Natural Science, the Command and General Staff College earning a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Workplace Development, and the University of Texas-El Paso earning a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and Community Engagement.
Her awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (4th Award), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (3rd Award), the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal (5th Award), the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Citation, the Army Good Conduct Medal (6th Award), the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (Numeral 5), the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon (Numeral 3), and the Driver Mechanic Badge.