Marcia Carol Martin Anderson ( Mahan; born 1957) is a retired senior officer of the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

. She was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

woman to become a major general in the United States Army Reserve.

Early life

Anderson was born in

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...

, and finished school in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Her father served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, working as a truck driver. Anderson was commissioned into the U.S. Army through the ROTC program at Creighton University.

Career

As a civilian, Anderson served as Clerk of Court for the

United States Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...

for the Western District of Wisconsin. Anderson is a 1979 graduate of

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, a 1986 graduate of

Rutgers School of Law–Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and a 2003 graduate of the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

. She is married to Amos Charles Anderson. She originally signed up for the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

at Creighton University because she needed a science credit. In 2011, Anderson became the first

woman to achieve the federally recognized rank of major general in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

US Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

and the

US Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

. Anderson retired from the reserve army in 2016 and from her civilian job in 2019. She has since been awarded the Maj. Gen. James Earl Rudder Medal and been inducted into the Army Women's Foundation Hall of Fame. Since 2021, she has served as a member of the Green Bay Packers Executive Committee. In 2024 she was chosen to be the ship sponsor for the .

Personal life

Anderson lives in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

with her husband Amos Charles Anderson; the couple have no children of their own. An uncle, the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest Joseph A. Brown, was head of the Africana department at Southern Illinois University. She is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Awards

Anderson's military awards and decorations include the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with two

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

s, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with three oak leaf clusters, the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

, the

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

, the Parachutist Badge, and the

Physical Fitness Badge The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) was a test designed to measure the muscular strength, endurance, and cardiovascular respiratory fitness of soldiers in the United States Army. The test contained three events: push-ups, sit-ups, and a run ...

.usar.army.mil

Notes

External links

* *
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Anderson, December 11, 2011

''Paving the way for women’s success in army'' interview with Melissa Harris-Perry, February 15, 2014
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Marcia Mahan 1957 births Living people African-American female military personnel Female generals of the United States Army 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Creighton University alumni People from Beloit, Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin People from East St. Louis, Illinois Recipients of the Legion of Merit Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American military personnel 20th-century African-American women Military personnel from Illinois African-American United States Army personnel 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American lawyers United States Army War College alumni African-American Catholics