Rutgers Veterans Supporting Rutgers Veterans
Steve Flett, a 1990 Rutgers College graduate who retired from the U.S. Army as a major, encourages Rutgers alumni who are veterans to connect with the Veteran Alumni of Rutgers University (VARU) association. Flett—who held a key intelligence role in the Pentagon during the 9/11 attacks—is in his second term as president of the organization that welcomes all Rutgers alumni who are veterans as members.
After Steve Flett retired and the fourth of his four sons had grown into adulthood, he searched for a volunteer cause that would be meaningful to him.
“I was looking for some way to give back,” says Flett, whose youngest son is now 24.
Supporting the Veteran Alumni of Rutgers University (VARU) association turned out to be ideal for Flett, who enrolled at Rutgers College in his mid-20s, led the Rutgers–New Brunswick ROTC as battalion commander, and graduated in 1990 with a degree in political science.
“My two favorite topics are veterans and Rutgers, so this was the perfect opportunity,” says Flett, who is in his second term as president of VARU.
VARU either hosts or joins as a partner to provide social networking events for Rutgers veteran alumni—including the upcoming military appreciation Rutgers football game at SHI Stadium in Piscataway on November 14 and a Rutgers Takes the Garden State Veterans Day observance at the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial in Camden on November 15—that are excellent places for Rutgers veteran alumni to connect.
“It’s just a wonderful opportunity to network,” Flett says. “For the older guys, they can get together and tell war stories. They can also mentor younger folks, the younger student veterans. You've got a middle population of veteran alumni who are still working who also can help the young folks.”
Flett will be one of the featured speakers at the Rutgers Takes the Garden State: Rutgers Day on the Battleship New Jersey event on November 15 in Camden, along with John Baker RC’69, who served as a captain in the Navy. The event includes tours of the battleship and a ceremonial firing of a 40 mm saluting gun. The deadline to register is November 5. To register and see the schedule, visit this page.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to recognize veterans and what they mean to the country and to the university,” Flett says.
Additional events and programming VARU hosts throughout the year include a social networking event each April, as well as other events in conjunction with the university’s Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services.
Flett hopes to grow the VARU email list that reaches about 7,000 veterans who are alumni. He encourages Rutgers alumni who are veterans to update their information with Rutgers online and note their military service and branch in the comments. He also encourages veterans who want to get involved to email him at VARUpresident@gmail.com.
From Rutgers to the Pentagon
Flett grew up in Upstate New York and Massachusetts before moving to Florida when he was in high school. After a year of college in Florida, he enlisted in the Army in 1981. He attended the Defense Language Institute and went on to conduct counterintelligence operations in Europe during the Cold War.
“It was clear who the enemy was,” Flett says. “In one particular operation, I recall working to provide surveillance operation on the Soviets, basically keeping eyes on them and ruining their day. It was great.”
After six years as an enlisted soldier, Flett applied to the Army’s Green to Gold program and was selected to receive a three-year active duty Army ROTC scholarship at Rutgers.
After graduating Rutgers in 1990, Flett’s service took him from Europe to Haiti and various operational locations in the U.S. and ultimately the Pentagon.
“I went from a private to a major in 23 years and got to understand much of what makes our military such a tremendous fighting force,” says Flett, a longtime resident of Stafford, Virginia.
Flett retired from the Army in 2004 but continued as a contractor for the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence with the Department of Defense before retiring from the FBI in 2021.
Flett’s wife, Dianna, graduated from Rutgers College in 1982 and served 21 years in the Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. They married in 1988.
It was September 11, 2001, when Flett had his greatest leadership challenge. While serving in the Pentagon as the Chief of the Army Intelligence Watch, Flett manned his position when a hijacked airplane hit the nation’s military headquarters, killing 64 people on the plane and 125 in the Pentagon.
That attack killed one of Flett’s close friends.
“Later in the day when I had a minute to reflect, I realized I was talking to him in his office and 30 minutes later he was dead,” says Flett, adding that his friend’s office was part of the Pentagon that was at the point of impact.
With all the senior Army intelligence leaders in Arizona for a conference, Flett was the senior Army intelligence officer in the Pentagon for most of that day. His role included moving to Capitol Hill, briefing the U.S. Senate and Congress, and working closely with the Army generals in charge of the response to the attacks. His actions that day earned him induction to the Polk County High School Hall of Fame in Florida.
Flett says while he always had been appreciative of the military and veterans, the experience of 9/11 was a “life-altering event” that remains with him in the work he does today.
“I really appreciate the opportunity to help my fellow veterans in some small way,” Flett says. “My goal is to help build Veteran Alumni of Rutgers University into an active community that provides positive social networking opportunities for Rutgers veterans and veteran students."
A Call to Rutgers Veterans
If you are a Rutgers alumnus or alumna and a veteran, we want to hear from you. Please update your contact information at the link below. If you’d like to get involved with the Veteran Alumni of Rutgers University (VARU) association, please email Steve Flett at VARUpresident@gmail.com.
