Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) Phyllis J. Wilson served as the 5th Command Chief Warrant Officer (CCWO) for the United States Army Reserve. She was a key member of the Executive Team managing an organization with an annual operating budget of more than $8 Billion. She completed a Senior Fellowship with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group focused on Global issues 2050 and beyond.

 

Chief Wilson holds a master’s degree in Management from Webster University, two Bachelor of Science degrees: nursing (registered nurse) and liberal arts (sociology/German) and three Associate of Science degrees. She has attended the Defense Language Institute for German and Spanish as well as the Defense Strategic Debriefer Course. She is a 2008 graduate of the Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course and has studied at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany, completing the Program for Advanced Security Studies in 2009. She also holds a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University. She is pursuing a second master’s degree in Public Administration with a Non-Profit Organizations focus.

 

Chief Wilson’s military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Parachutist Badge. She was inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame in 2017.

 

Her non-profit experience includes being the President of the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial Foundation – the only major national memorial honoring all women who have defended America throughout history from the Revolutionary War to today. She also founded Wounded Warriors Have Families Too, Inc. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Allied Forces Foundation; the Army Women’s Foundation; and she is the first Army Warrant Officer ever to serve as a member of the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) Board of Directors. She is also a Senior Fellow at AUSA.

 

She has eight children: Joseph, Jeremy, Rebekah, Matthias, Rachel, Jared, Maria and Jesse. Four sons: Joseph, Jeremy, Matthias, and Jared are in the military and are all combat veterans. She has twelve grandchildren and counting!

Lieutenant Colonel Mills served as Operations Officer, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (MEU SOC) taking part in operations off Bosnia and Somalia, was assigned to the staff of the Commander, United States Sixth Fleet in Gaeta, Italy, and as Commanding Officer, 3d Battalion, 6th Marines.

 

While a Colonel, he studied at the Royal College of Defense Studies, London, England, was the Officer-In-Charge of the Special Operations Training Group, II MEF, and commanded 24th MEU (SOC). While under his command the 24th MEU (SOC) participated in Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo and combat operations ashore in Iraq as part of Task Force Tarawa. Colonel Mills later served at United States European Command (EUCOM) in Stuttgart, Germany as the Assistant Chief of Staff. Upon selection to Brigadier General, he served as Deputy Director of Operations for EUCOM.

 

From 2007 to 2009 Brigadier General Mills served as Assistant Division Commander and Division Commander, 1st Marine Division and upon promotion to Major General as Commander, Ground Combat Element, Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Upon returning from Iraq he again assumed command of the 1st Marine Division and then was selected to command the I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) which deployed to Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). In June 2010, he assumed command of the newly-created ISAF Regional Command (Southwest) in Helmand Province. Major General Mills was the first Marine Corps General Officer to command NATO forces in combat.

 

In July 2011 and upon promotion to Lieutenant General he assumed the duties as the Commanding General Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA, Deputy Commandant for Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills Commander, Marine Forces Reserve/Commander, Marine Forces South Combat Development and Integration, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, and Commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.

 Troxell has served as the Command Sergeant Major of the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York and Iraq; the Regimental Command Sergeant Major of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment in both Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort Lewis, Washington; the Command Sergeant Major of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington and Iraq; the 21st Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Armor Center and Fort Know, Kentucky; the Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Accessions Command and Human Resource Center of Excellence in Fort Knox, Kentucky; the Command Sergeant Major of US Army I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Washington; the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan and the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea. Troxell was sworn in as the SEAC on December 11, 2015 and finished his tour of duty on December 13, 2019. His official retirement date was March 31, 2020.

Troxell’s five combat tours of duty include making the combat parachute jump and service in Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. As the SEAC, Troxell routinely visited troops deployed to countries around the world to include, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and numerous others to gain the pulse of the force for the Chairman and Secretary. His military education includes Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster, Pathfinder, PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC, and the First Sergeants Course. He is a graduate of Class 51 of the US Army Sergeants Major Course and the Command Sergeants Major Course. Troxell is also a graduate of the National Defense University Keystone Joint Command Senior Enlisted Course, the US Army War College Strategic Leader Development Course, the US Army Intermediate Strategic Leader Defense Course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the US Army Advanced Strategic Leader Development Course at Southwest Airlines and Exxon Mobile headquarters. Troxell is also a fellow at the Asia Pacific Center for Strategic Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii. His civilian education includes a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in strategic leadership from Trident University in California.

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Troxell’s awards and decorations include the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger tab, the Master Parachutist Badge with combat jump star device, the Pathfinder Badge, the Driver Badge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 2nd Infantry Division, I Corps, and IJC Combat Service Identification Badges, the Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal “V” device and four oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf, Joint Meritorious Unit award with oak leaf device, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal (12 awards), National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with arrowhead device, Southwest Asia Service Medal with two campaign stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one campaign star, Iraqi Campaign Medal with one campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon with bronze award numeral 4, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 4, NATO Meritorious Service Medal, NATO Medal (ISAF), Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), and the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Kuwait). He is a Silver Medallion recipient of the Order of St. George (Armor Association), and a Centurion of the Order of St. Maurice (National Infantry Association).

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During his time as the SEAC, Troxell campaigned for a distinctive rank insignia for the SEAC position much like each of the Service Senior Enlisted Advisors and on December 8, 2019 the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved the new rank and title and pinned the new rank on Troxell at a ceremony in the Pentagon.

Troxell is married to the former Sandra Jimenez, his wife of over 36 years from El Paso, Texas. They have three adult sons and four grandchildren.

Since his military retirement, Troxell has opened his own consulting firm, PME Hard Consulting, LLC, and now serves as a Brand Ambassador for the US Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes Foundation, the Veterans Lending Group, and Eyewear Safety Systems (ESS); he serves as the Vice President for Strategic Planning for DFND USA, he also serves as a military consultant for Alpha Warrior 360 gyms, and Film 45 movie production company. Troxell is the Advisory Board Director for FitOps by Performix and serves on the advisory boards for Allied Forces Foundation and the Patriot Foundation. His focus continues to be on assisting military members, veterans, and their families.

SEAC (Retired) Troxell and his wife Sandra reside in Lakewood, Washington.