Phyllis J. Wilson

Phyllis J. Wilson entered the United States Army as a private in March 1981 and built a career spanning more than thirty years across active and reserve components. She served as a military intelligence German linguist, a senior counterterrorism analyst, and an intelligence analyst at U.S. Special Operations Command. Her operational record includes two deployments to Iraq and mobilizations supporting both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. She attended the Defense Language Institute for German and Spanish and graduated from the Defense Strategic Debriefer Course.

Wilson earned a Master of Science in management from Webster University and completed advanced security studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany. She graduated from the Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course in 2008, completing the capstone of the Army's warrant officer professional military education continuum. In 2012, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appointed her as the 5th Command Chief Warrant Officer of the U.S. Army Reserve. In that role, she advised the commanding general on warrant officer training, education, career management, and leader development across the reserve component.

Her post-retirement contributions extended her service well beyond the uniform. Wilson earned a certificate in nonprofit management from Duke University and assumed the presidency of the Military Women's Memorial Foundation in 2019, championing recognition for the three million women who have served in the Armed Forces. She serves on the boards of Policy Vets and the Association of the United States Army, where she holds senior fellow status. Secretary Austin appointed her to the Reserve Forces Policy Board. She also serves as the Army Reserve Ambassador for Maryland, carrying protocol status equivalent to a two-star general officer.

In July 2025, Wilson was inducted into the Honorable Order of the Eagle Rising Society at Fort Rucker, becoming the twenty-seventh recipient, honoring her 2024 selection for the award.