First Black woman major general honored as sponsor for US combat ship
By Dawn Sawyer, CNN
(CNN) — The USS Beloit, a littoral combat ship, was commissioned Saturday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with African American trailblazer Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson as the ship’s chosen sponsor.
Anderson is nationally recognized for being the first Black woman to achieve the rank of major general in the United States Army Reserve. The 2011 promotion made her the highest-ranked African American woman in the US Army at the time.
Ship sponsors are chosen by the secretary of the Navy, who is currently Carlos Del Toro, and are determined based on the relationship the sponsor has to the ship’s namesake or the current mission.
The ship, named after the city of Beloit, Wisconsin, is the 15th Freedom-variant littoral combat ship commissioned in the United States Navy, according to a US Navy press release. It was named in recognition of Beloit’s contributions to the Navy.
Beloit is Anderson’s hometown. She was born there in 1957 as Marcia Mahan.
“When I think about the role that Beloit has played in the Navy, … (that) simultaneously created a strong, robust workforce among women with that effort, I think it is totally appropriate that we have our dear General Marcia Anderson being the sponsor of this great ship,” Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisconsin, said at the commissioning ceremony on Saturday.
The USS Beloit passed its acceptance trials in August 2024, which was the final milestone needed before being delivered to the Navy. The ship is now ready for battle, according to US Navy Cmdr. Jason Dejesus, executive officer of the USS Beloit.
“The USS Beloit is tested and battle ready,” said Dejesus. “We are all here, very proud to serve on the newest warship in the United States Navy and represent the rich maritime history of Beloit.”
‘A groundbreaker in her own right’
The ship’s sponsor, Maj. Gen. Anderson, served almost four decades in the Army. Throughout her tenure, she earned awards such as the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and the Achievement Medal, along with several others.
“I am so pleased to be joined today by our own retired General Marcia Anderson, the ship’s sponsor, who was a groundbreaker in her own right,” Moore said Saturday.
Anderson’s journey with the US Army got its start at the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. After undergoing military training and committing to serve in the armed forces, Anderson received her commission to the military as a second lieutenant in 1979 – the same year she graduated college.
After finishing her commitment period, Anderson enlisted in the US Army Reserve, where she worked her way up to the rank of captain training new recruits. As a citizen-soldier, Anderson worked as a reservist while also working in the private sector and obtaining a law degree from Rutgers University.
Anderson worked for almost 30 years as clerk of the US Bankruptcy Court in Madison, Wisconsin, until her retirement in 2019.
In 2010 Anderson took a one-year leave of absence from her civilian job to actively engage in military service. At that time, she was named deputy commanding general of the US Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox.
In 2011, Anderson received her famous promotion as major general and then got a new assignment to the Pentagon as deputy chief of the Army Reserve.
Following her retirement in 2016, Anderson was awarded the Associate of the United States Army’s Maj. Gen. James Earl Rudder Medal and was inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame in 2021.
The decorated general ended the commissioning ceremony Saturday according to tradition with the loud call, “Man our ship and bring her to life,” as the ship’s systems came online.
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