Shippensburg University Army ROTC Hall of Fame

William H. Burkhart Hall of Fame

LTG Karen Dyson

Lieutenant General, United States Army, Retired

Inducted in 2024

Karen Dyson culminated her military career in 2017 as Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management & Comptroller), the most senior military officer responsible for budget and financial management, enabling the Army’s global operations during war, technology escalation and shifting world order.

During her career General Dyson had the honor of leading troops in Europe and Southwest Asia during times of war and peace. Under her command in Iraq and surrounding countries, her Brigade refined money movement intelligence reporting and initiated stored value cards for soldiers’ use across the battlefield. Her team innovated processes to enable EFT transactions for payments, making contract payments in the deployed theater safer and more accountable. Her units, which were dispersed across the battlespace, executed cash operations across a spectrum that included acquisition, security, storage, distribution, payments, and accountability.

General Dyson’s staff experience includes financial and budget operations at The White House and the U.S. Army Headquarters, Pentagon. As a comptroller, she led reviews and acquired funding for resourcing operations in the aftermath of 9-11, and later, more broadly for the Army. She led analysis that created options for senior leader decisions on disruptive budget reductions imposed through the Congressional appropriation process, either through Continuing Resolutions or late Appropriation Act approvals. She led and supported the Army’s strategic effort to transform people, processes, and technology toward achieving auditability.

From 1985 to 1988, then Captain Dyson, Assistant Professor of Military Science in the Raider Battalion, was a member of a team who proudly prepared cadets for commissioning and impactful leadership experiences in various branches of the Army.

General Dyson earned many awards and decorations, including the Parachutist Badge, but is most proud of her Meritorious Unit Commendations reflecting exceptional team accomplishments in missions supporting our nation in times of war. In 2023, she was inducted into the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame.

Karen currently serves as an independent director on the Boards of Genworth Financial, a public company; USAA Federal Savings Bank, a private company; CALIBRE Systems, an employee-owned company; and the Army Emergency Relief Organization, a non-profit organization.

Karen graduated from Missouri State University and earned an MBA from Austin Peay State University and a master’s degree in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (formerly, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces).

Karen is married to Jim Chamberlain, Colonel, United States Air Force, Retired. Between them, they have more than 60 years of service to our nation and have lived and worked in many different states and countries. Outside of work and volunteering, they enjoy traveling, baseball (Go Nats!), bicycling, and boating.