On this episode of Behind the Mission, we feature a conversation with Army Veteran Phyllis Wilson, President of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation. We talk about the important contributions of women in the U.S. Military and the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington, Virginia

 

Phyllis Wilson served 37 years in the Army as a Military Intelligence (MI) Voice Intercept Operator. She has served around the globe – visiting more than 35 countries – in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America.

She has been mobilized numerous times to shoulder the duties of defense of the nation and has deployed to Iraq several times as an Intelligence Analyst with Special Operations.

Chief Warrant Officer Five Phyllis J. Wilson served as the most senior Warrant Officer in the entire United States Army Reserve, and a key member of the Executive Team managing an organization of more than 200,000 personnel with an annual operating budget of more than $8 Billion.

She was a Senior Military Fellow with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group focused on Global issues 2050 and beyond.

Phyllis is a Registered Nurse and holds two Master’s degrees, two Bachelor of Science degrees, and a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University. She attended the Defense Language Institute for both German and Spanish. She is a graduate of the Program in Advanced Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Center and School in Garmisch, Germany. She has received numerous military decorations and awards ranging from the Legion of Merit to the Army Parachutist Badge. She has been inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame and the U.S. Veterans Hall of Fame.

She is President of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation – the only major national memorial honoring the 3 million women who have defended America from the Revolutionary War to today. The Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has appointed her to the Reserve Forces Policy Board. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Policy Vets and the Association of the United States Army (AUSA). She is also a Senior Fellow at AUSA. Phyllis serves as an Army Reserve Ambassador for Maryland which is afforded the rights, privileges, and protocol status equivalent to that of a 2-Star General Officer.

Phyllis is a member of The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the World Wars, Association of the United States Army, Association of the United States Navy, Women Marines Association, Reserve Organization of America, Military Women Across the Nation, Army Women Veterans Association, Military Officers Association of America, Disabled American Veterans, Air Force Association, U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association, the Mayflower Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, National Defense Industrial Association, and Women In Defense.

In March 2020, Phyllis was named a Power Player of the Week on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. View the video Here.

She has eight children. Four of her sons are in the military and all are combat veterans. She has fifteen grandchildren and one on the way – October 2023!

This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the PsychArmor course, Women Who Serve. This course is an overview of the contributions women have made to our military forces. This course is intended for those who want to better understand women's role in our military. 

 

You can see find this episode here: https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/women-who-serve

This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.

 

Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.