Connie Flatt Retires After 46 Years With Nashville District

Connie Flatt, who managed the Nashville Engineer District’s Operations and Maintenance program and administered more than $150 million in O&M projects annually, retired March 31 after 46 years of federal service.

Flatt joined the Nashville District in 1980 after graduating from Tennessee Tech University. Encouraged by her older brother, Barry Mitchell, to pursue civil engineering at a time when women were rare in the field, Flatt began her career in an era of blueprints, ledgers, typewriters and slide rules. Over the course of her career, she saw the district move from paper files, carbon copies and interoffice mail to cloud storage, specialized project management software, Microsoft Teams, search engines and artificial intelligence.

“I will always be grateful to my older brother, Barry Mitchell, who encouraged me to become a civil engineer,” Flatt said. “In 1975, women rarely pursued engineering as their major. Barry and I attended Tennessee Tech University together for one year before he died in a tragic accident. I often think of Barry and how he encouraged me.”

Flatt became a program and project manager in 1985. She later served as the district’s Engineering and Construction Division coordinator for architect-engineer acquisition from 1997 to 2003. Since 2003, she has served as the district’s O&M program manager.

Craig Carrington, Nashville District deputy for project management, presented Flatt with the Department of the Army Civilian Service Commendation Medal and her Certificate of Retirement on behalf of Lt. Col. Guillermo Guandique, Nashville District commander. The award recognized Flatt’s contributions in the Programs and Project Delivery Branch.

“Connie’s intimate understanding of the district and its projects helped her communicate needs and ‘fight’ for the funding Nashville needed,” Carrington said. “As an engineer, she understood the technical aspects of components used to operate flood gates, miter gates and many other aspects of our projects. During her career, Connie secured hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed funds. Her impact will be felt for generations.”

Early in her career, Flatt supported operations and maintenance at Fort Campbell through a program called “Work for Others.” At the same time, the Corps was beginning to use personal computers to track and schedule work for projects, including the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Project. Flatt said the Nashville District was an early advocate for scheduling systems and supported the use of Primavera software as part of the Corps’ Program and Project Management Information System, known as P2.

“Nashville District has always been a strong advocate of scheduling systems, and our senior leaders advocated for Primavera being included as a part of the relatively new Program and Project Management Information System,” Flatt said.

Flatt said the tools changed dramatically, but the goal of improving project delivery remained constant.

“We’ve always sought to transform our processes,” Flatt said. “From having one of the first personal computers in the office to using AI today, it’s about making sure the data serves the project.”

During her career, Flatt’s work supported navigation, hydropower, flood risk management, recreation, environmental stewardship, water supply and emergency management projects across seven states in the Cumberland River and Tennessee River basins. She supported the Engineering Division, Operations Division and Planning, Programs and Project Management Division, using financial, scheduling and budgeting systems to manage the O&M program.

“The Nashville District is the only place I ever worked,” Flatt said.

Flatt’s retirement also marks a family transition within the district. Her son, Cody, who was born in the 1990s and has worked as a biologist, park ranger and program manager, is taking over as O&M program manager.

“I am most proud of his being such a kind and hard-working person and always striving to do the right thing,” Flatt said.

Featured photo caption: Connie Flatt (front row, second from left), poses with coworkers March 15, 1996, at the Nashville District Headquarters in Nashville, Tenn. She recently culminated 46 years of federal service during a retirement ceremony March 31, 2026. (Photo courtesy of The Army Corps of Engineers)