BTM120 - Phyllis Wilson - The Military Women's Memorial
05/23/23 • 33 min
Show Summary
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
About Today’s Guest
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!
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Military Women’s Memorial Web Site
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
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 Sponsored By:
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.
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media
Show Summary
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
About Today’s Guest
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!
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Military Women’s Memorial Web Site
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
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 Sponsored By:
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.
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media
Previous Episode
BTM119 - Angela Johnson - Supporting Families of Justice Involved Veterans
Show Summary
On this episode of Behind the Mission, we feature a conversation with Angela Johnson, Founder and Executive Director of Valor Village, a program that provides no cost overnight lodging, resources, and peer support to loved ones who have traveled to Southeastern Virginia to visit an incarcerated veteran.
About Today’s Guest
Angela Johnson is the founder and Executive Director of Valor VillageTM Foundation, the nation’s first Justice Staytion®, providing no-cost overnight lodging, resources, and peer support to loved ones who have traveled to southeastern Virginia to visit an incarcerated veteran. Her vision, turned reality, empowers family members and justice-involved veterans to maintain their critical connections to promote wellness and reduce vulnerability to recidivism.
As the mother of a formerly incarcerated disabled Army veteran, Angela is proximate to and impassioned by her work as a social justice leader. She brings a wealth of expertise and a record of accomplishment from having served in previous roles as Washington Bureau Research Manager, Sr. Research Analyst, and Sr. Project Manager for major news outlets and non-partisan advocacy enterprises.
Planning and executing the delivery of state and federal policy news and resources to consumer audiences solidified her devotion to creating solutions that address complex human rights and social justice issues through education and engagement. Angela has led a technology team to ensure proper communication capabilities for war correspondents embedded with military units in Afghanistan and Iraq. She has conducted primary research supporting groundbreaking exclusive reports and studies. Throughout her career, Angela has informed the public about issues that impact our liberty and quality of life. She believes that indifference to America's failure to right the criminal justice system, and the harm that results from not doing so, can progressively be eliminated through compassion created by collective knowledge.
She holds a Master of Science degree in Information Science from CUNY at Queens College and certifications in diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership, project management, and business process management.
Her professional awards include a Pulitzer Prize for her contribution to spot news reporting, social impact innovation awards, and a Publisher’s award. She is a Prison Fellowship Justice Ambassador and an active member of several regional collaborative community councils, including the Reentry Council’s Veterans Justice Subcommittee.
Angela is also an active team member on the home front, enjoying new adventures with and learning lots from her husband, three children, and grandkids.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
The Veterans Justice Commission Web site
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is Episode 52 of the Behind The Mission Podcast featuring Scott Tirocchi, the Division Director for Justice for Vets. In this episode, you can learn more about supporting veterans in the criminal legal system and learn about Justice for Vets, the nation's leading organization advancing the importance of veteran treatment courts as programs to support these veterans.
You can see find this episode here: https://psycharmor.org/podcast/scott-tirocchi
This Episode Sponsored By:
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.
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media
Theme Music
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.
Producer and...
Next Episode
BTM Bonus - Enduring Remembrance with wear blue: run to remember
Show Summary
On this Bonus Episode of Behind the Mission, we join with wear blue: run to remember to share stories of active remembrance in support of the annual wear blue: run to remember Memorial Day Run, a nation-wide event happening in-person in communities across the country and virtually.
About Today’s Guest
On 9 March 2010, wear blue: run to remember was founded following the redeployment of 5-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team to their home station of Joint Base Lewis McChord. While deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the 1-17 Infantry Battalion, Buffalos, sustained significant combat losses and casualties. During that deployment, a small group of 5-2 wives and battalion staff met weekly to run, creating a support network for one another during this challenging and heartbreaking deployment. wear blue co-founder and current Executive Director, Lisa Hallett, lost her husband, CPT John Hallett, when he and three other soldiers were killed on August 25, 2009, while returning from a goodwill mission in Southern Afghanistan. The Hallett children were young when John was killed - 3 years, 1 year, and only three weeks old. John never met his youngest child. A lifelong runner, Lisa turned to running and community to navigate this incredibly difficult time, and work through her grief and loss.
When the brigade returned, Lisa and fellow Army wife, Erin O’Connor, turned this small group into a nationwide organization that now helps thousands across the country heal from the devastating effects of the loss of a military loved one.
The original wear blue runners wore blue Buffalo PT (physical training) shirts when they were running together while their spouses were deployed from 2009-2010. Blue shirts are now worn as a tribute to the 5-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
When an individual dons a wear blue: run to remember shirt, they are indicating their support of our service members, veterans, and their families, and their commitment to ensuring that our fallen service members will always be remembered.
Today, wear blue honors all members of the military who pass away while in service and has evolved into a powerful network of currently serving, veterans, military families, Gold Star and surviving families, and community members.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
wear blue: run to remember Web Site
This Episode Sponsored By:
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.
Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media
Theme Music
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.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com
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