Phyllida (Phyl) Shoudel, an Operations Officer for the Illinois Army National Guard, didn't have career aspirations of becoming a Lieutenant Colonel … at least not right away.
Military ranks weren't on her radar, nor was what they meant. She even had a mentor at her church in Wheaton who was a retired Navy officer, but Shoudel had no idea where he stood in the pecking order (Hint: pretty high).
Now, the West Chicago native and Western Illinois University ROTC alumna, who calls Macomb home, knows rank and knows it well. The once-Major in the Illinois Army National Guard was recently promoted to the near-the-top rank in her branch of service as part of her 19-year professional military career with the Guard.
'He took part in my ROTC commissioning, and it was then I learned that he was a Captain, which is right under an Admiral. I had no idea. I just thought he was sweet Mr. Walker,' she said with a laugh.
Shoudel's military career would have started in high school had it not discontinued the program a few years before she was enrolled as a student. Because of that desire to be a part of a military program, she specifically chose Western Illinois University because of its award-winning and well-known Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. And the rest is history.
She's moved up the ranks – literally – going from Macomb to Springfield to Peoria and back to Springfield, where she has worked since 2021. Another in-between as well … marriage to her college sweetheart, Troy Shoudel, who is now the Operations Commander for the Macomb Police Department, and becoming a mother to Charlie and Frankie, now six and four, respectively. She's not only a Lieutenant Colonel, she's a Girl Scout leader, an avid reader, a wife, a daughter and a commuter, who drives 75 miles each way twice a day, all while managing a full-time federal technician job and monthly drill weekends.
Along the way, while working full-time, she has also completed numerous education programs including Adjutant General Basic Officer Leader Course, Chemical Captain’s Career Course, Chemical Defense Course, Master Resilience Trainer Course, Command and General Staff Officer Course and the Advanced Operations Course.
Her awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and combat “C” device, Army Achievement Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Order of the Combat Spur and Order of the Dragon, alongside numerous state and federal recognitions.
A Perfect Fit: How a Uniform Shaped a Career Shoudel attended a Catholic school in her early years, where uniforms were mandatory, a detail her parents jokingly said laid out her future. Her brother, 12 years her senior, had already gone active-duty Army, stationed, so she was used to seeing him in uniform. When she attended his graduation, Shoudel said something clicked.
“I liked the look of their uniforms, and mom and dad think it's because I grew up wearing uniforms since I went to a Catholic school. Then I went to high school, missed wearing one and wanted to get back into a uniform,' she laughed. 'That was my dad's theory anyway.'
Then came WIU, even though her mother wanted her to attend her alma mater, Illinois College. She joined Western's ROTC – another uniform - as a freshman in 2006 and became part of the Simultaneous Membership Program, drilling with the 44th Chemical Battalion National Guard Unit – another uniform - in Macomb while still a cadet. She was paid as an E5—Sergeant—and was already doing the work of an S-1, the personnel officer, by the time she was commissioned in 2010.
Calling Macomb Home
When it came time to choose between active duty, the National Guard or the Reserves, Shoudel made a deliberate choice. Her brother's constant moves, from base to base, state to state, had shown her a life she didn't want. Troy wanted to be a police officer, and Phyl wanted to stay in Illinois, so she chose the Illinois National Guard. Troy joined the Macomb Police Force in 2012, and the couple married in 2015.
'It's really hard to be a police officer when you're jumping bases every two years,' she explained. 'And I knew I wanted a family someday, so I really wanted to stay in Illinois so we could be more settled.'
Deployment: Gender Roles & Motherhood In November 2016, while still working at the Macomb National Guard office, Shoudel deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Freedom's Sentinel as a Captain, serving as an Adjutant General as the for Bilateral Embedded Support Team (BEST) 18, advising the Afghan National Police 303rd Zone and Afghan National Army 203rd Corps. She worked on personnel issues and, alongside a retired Louisiana police Captain, on gender issues where they taught the Afghan Soldiers and officers that women could serve, lead and make their own choices.
'I remember the questions they asked me. One of them was, 'Your husband allowed you to come?' I told them, 'Well, he doesn’t allow me to do anything. That's not how it works. We had a discussion, I said 'I'm going' and he said 'okay,'' she explained. 'Females making their own decisions and doing what they want is not part of their culture. There were a lot of philosophical discussions about how capable females are.'
Besides two females teaching males in an incredibly male-dominated culture the various aspects of gender roles outside what they considered the 'norm,' they also had discussions about general topics such as marriage. Phyl and Troy had only been married about a year when she deployed, but had been dating for about seven years. In Afghan culture, the father arranges his daughter's marriage, picking her husband for her, and the couple meets on their wedding day.
“I had a gentleman tell me he was going to pick his daughter's husband, and I remember telling him that was a little strange because he's not the one who has to live with the husband and his family,' Shoudel recalled. 'During one of our last visits before we headed home, he said, 'Hey, I've got good news for you. I’m going to let my daughter pick her husband.' When I asked why, he told me what I said about not having to live with him stuck with him.
'It was so slow though and it was hard to get through to a lot of the men, especially since they care more about the males in their culture. One of the Afghan Military Colonels was so excited because he was having his first grandson, he had granddaughters already but not a grandson,' she shared. 'I talked to Troy, who knows how to crochet, and I asked him to make a baby blanket for me. The Colonel loved it, but I didn't have the heart to tell him my husband made it. It would've been mind-blowing.'
When she returned back to the states after her seven- month deployment, she stepped into a new role, Force Development, where she helped senior officers prepare promotion packets, followed by leading Family Programs. In Summer 2019, Shoudel transferred from Springfield to Peoria as a Brigade S-1 for the 65th Troop Command. Two years later, it was back to the Springfield office as the State Incentives Manager where she was in charge of reenlistment bonuses and other reenlistment programs.
Then Africa came calling … and …. then parenthood. 'I was command directed to go to Africa. I got a letter, and I had to call my commander because there was a chance I could be pregnant,' she recalls. 'Sure enough, I was, so Africa was out.'
Their first daughter, Charlie, was born in 2020; their second, Frankie, in January 2022, which was the same month she started a new position as Operations Officer.
Rising in the Ranks
After 19 years in the Illinois National Guard, Shoudel is, along with her rank as a Lieutenant Colonel, a GS-12 federal technician. To advance further, she explained she'd need to become a deputy director or director, positions that are hard to come by in the Illinois Army National Guard.
'I'm kind of capped out of where I am unless I become a deputy or a director as there are not very many positions that are GS-13 or 14,' she explained.
At her current rank, she is one of about seven females who are Lieutenant Colonels, with 16 females at the Major rank waiting for promotion. Overall, there are only four females who are full Colonels in the Illinois Army National Guard.
'My immediate goal currently isn't to become a full Colonel, but to command the chemical battalion—the unit where I started, where I served as Headquarters Commander and where she moved Soldiers from Macomb to Bloomington,' Shoudel stated. 'If I can get the chem battalion, I'm good to retire in a few years, but after that, it would be nice to become the G1, but it's also hard to get to.'
Career Highlights
For a Polish girl from West Chicago, going to Poland on a mission has been one of Shoudel's highlights as her dad's family is from Poland. She also had the opportunity to meet Poland's former President Duda when he was in the U.S. for a visit, who was visibly confused when told she was Polish.
''Really?,' he asked, because I am Black – my dad was full Polish, blondehaired and blue-eyed. My mom, a Black woman. He couldn't wrap his head around that he was meeting a Black Polish person,' she said with a smile.
Even though it was a different world, her experience in Afghanistan was a career highlight. The CERFP, the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive Emergency Response Force Package, where she served as deputy commander. Watching soldiers in gas masks and protective gear move with precision, decontamination lines and medical sections arranged like a well-choreographed dance.
'It looks good. It might look scary if you see it from an aerial view, but it's really impressive,' she said.
But mostly, her career highlights have always been about the people, here and abroad. Soldiers she'd spend just a single day with and know their life stories by end of day.
'A lot of it is about the people I've met along the way,' Shoudel added.
Time Keeps on Tickin, Tickin, Tickin Shoudel is up and at 'em five days a week for her commute to Springfield. She drills once a month, and has a longer summertime drill requirement, sometimes splitting her 14 annual days into smaller chunks to accommodate her home life. She's a Girl Scout leader. She reads three books simultaneously, an audiobook for her commute, a Kindle app on her phone for moments between and a physical book for when she gets to sit down at home. Nothing serious – she chooses novels that require no 'extra brain power.'
How does she manage it all?
'Very little sleep,' she said, again with a laugh.
Luckily for her (and all the other parents and caretakers), the National Guard is family-friendly.
She has bosses who understand when she needs to leave early for Girl Scouts or adjust her schedule for her daughters' needs. She and Troy have learned to communicate with military precision. They talk, they map out their days.
'We have a lot of conversations to figure out, okay, tomorrow is what day,' she shared. 'We both understand each other very well.'
The hard days are real, but so are the good ones.
What would she tell a young person considering military service?
'Do it … even if it's hard because it really can be fun along the way,' she stated matter-of-factly. 'Not every day, but it will be fun. I don't regret a single moment of my career, except maybe the moments hiking three miles with a full rucksack, I can think right there that I might regret it a little.'
Looking into a Crystal Ball: The Future In January 2028, Shoudel will reach a milestone: 20 years of military service.
It's at that point in her career where the Army will review her record, looking at her evaluations, awards, continuing education, key development assignments, to decide if she'll stay on.
She fully expects to pass the records review.
'I've done everything right. I've had command time as a company commander, staff time as an S-3 and Executive Officer at battalion and brigade levels, I've met the education requirements, drilled each month and worked fulltime,' Shoudel pointed out.
'I don't see being kicked out at 20. I'm also a technician, so I also still give a lot to the organization.'
When she passes the review, she'll get a continuation letter that will allow her to continue another one or two years, then there's another review. Shoudel would like to try to step into a battalion commander role should one become available.
'I can't picture when my retirement will be or what I'll even do afterwards because I've done this for so long, and I like it,' she says.
'I'd do it all again.'
