Major General Marcia Anderson
USS Beloit Ship Sponsor
“As a native of Beloit and a proud “Wisconsinite” I am very honored to be able to represent my City and State as the Sponsor of the USS Beloit (LCS-29). It is important to recognize that small cities like Beloit have had an outsized impact on our National Security for over 100 years and also have a significant role in the history of our country. We must never forget that the reason our country is so admired around the world is because we have always been a nation that honors and recognizes the devotion and courage of ordinary people. The USS Beloit exemplifies and continues that tradition.”
Major General (Ret.) Marcia Anderson’s military career spanned 36 years in the Army Reserve and on Active duty until she retired in 2016.
General Anderson has a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University, a Master in Strategic Studies from the U. S. Army War College, and a law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law. She has several military awards to include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, as well as the Parachutists Badge.
She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1979 and served in various leadership and staff roles throughout her career. She was promoted in 2008 to Brigadier General and led over 6,000 Soldiers in an area that covered several Army posts in the Western United States. In 2010, General Anderson became the first African American Brigadier General to serve as the Deputy Commanding General of the Army’s Human Resources Command, which supports over 2.5 million Civilians, Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, retired Soldiers. She served in that capacity until her United States Senate confirmation as the first African American female Major General in the history of the Army, Army Reserve or National Guard. She was subsequently assigned as the Deputy Chief Army Reserve in 2011. In that role she served for three years at the Pentagon and had oversight for an $8 Billion budget, policy development and execution, and over 200,000 Soldiers and Civilians.
General Anderson retired from the United States Courts, where she served as the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Wisconsin, located in Madison, Wisconsin. Early in her legal career, she was Deputy General Counsel for a major utility in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and as a litigation associate for a firm in New Jersey. General Anderson is active in her community, and she currently serves as a member of the Green Bay Packers board of Directors as well as a member of the team’s Executive Committee. In addition, she is also on the boards of Directors for MGE Energy and Nicolet Bank.
Since 2016, General Anderson has served on the Department of Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Defense and Prosecution and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces and was appointed in 2021 as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) for Wisconsin.
She is a proud native of Beloit and grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. She is married to Amos Anderson and they are the excited to have three amazing grandsons.
