Colonel /Dr. Martha Ann McRavin-Oliver was born and reared in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She graduated from Temple High School in 1972; received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Alcorn State University; a Masters Degree from Jackson State University; a Masters Degree from Mississippi College; a Masters of Military Arts and Science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College; a Specialist Degree from Jackson State University; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership from Jackson State University. Her military education includes graduation from the United States Army Personnel Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the United States Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps School of Cadet Command, Department of the Army Inspector General School, and the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
Colonel Oliver retired from active duty in the United States Army in 2006 at United States Army Cadet Command Headquarters, Fort Monroe, Virginia with 34 years of service. In 2015, she retired from the Yazoo City Municipal School District, Yazoo City, Mississippi as the Director of the Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Program.
Colonel Oliver enlisted in the U. S. Army as a Private and served three years reaching the rank of Sergeant. Upon discharge from active duty, Colonel Oliver enrolled in and completed a Master Degree Program and the Army ROTC Program at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. She served on active duty in the U. S. Army in numerous leadership and managerial positions at Major Army Command Installations during her 34 years of service. Her assignments include: Assistant Chief of Staff for Army Reserve; Director of The Army School System Directorate, United States Army TRADOC; Battalion Commander and Professor of Military Science, Alcorn State University; Director of Protocol; Assistant Inspector General; Aide-de-Camp; Personnel Officer; and two tours of duty at Jackson State University as Senior Assistant Professor of Military Science and Recruiting Operations Officer.
Colonel Oliver’s civilian assignments include Personnel Management Specialist, Human Resource Office, United States Army Corps of Engineers Lower Mississippi Valley Division, Vicksburg, Mississippi; Personnel Management Specialist, United States Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Personnel Management Specialist and Personnel Staffing Specialist, United States Office of Personnel Management, Jackson, Mississippi.
Her awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, two awards of the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.
Colonel/Dr. Oliver is a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, Alpha Epsilon Lambda National Honor Society, the Reserve Officers Association, the Association of the United States Army, Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the American Legion, and the NAACP.
Colonel/Dr. Oliver is a member of Cade Chapel M. B. Church in Jackson. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Taunya Nicole, a son, Jarett, and a grandson, RJ.