Growing up on a farm in Colorado where her parents were sharecroppers, Carol Mutter (née Schneider) learned the value of hard work and perseverance. In high school her math teacher also served as a valuable mentor, a benefit not forgotten by Mutter. She earned her first degree, a B A. in Mathematics Education from the University of Northern Colorado, but in her junior year she spent the summer experiencing military life without having to commit fully to the military, a unique opportunity in the 1960s. Following graduation, she was commissioned as a Marine officer and that set the stage for a career Carol Mutter had not envisioned, bringing her success through exceptional effort and commitment to each task she undertook.
From a first military position in data processing, she progressed to Space Director at the U.S. Space Command, then transferred to Okinawa, Japan with her husband, Marine Colonel Jim Mutter. In 1991, she became a Brigadier General with reassignment to Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in 1994 Carol Mutter became the first woman Major General which also designated her as the senior woman in all branches of U.S. military service. Reaching a Marine pinnacle in 1996, she was promoted to Lieutenant General, the first woman in the history of the U.S. Armed Forces to be appointed to a three-star grade.
Retiring in 1999 after 31 years in the Marine Corps, Lt. General Mutter has used her background in financial management, military research, equal opportunity, and other career experiences to work in the private sector and serve in an advisory capacity on several boards. She used her leadership skills serving as President of the Woman Marines Association, an organization which has allowed her to support the history of women in the military, provide philanthropic and civic engagement, and assist veterans.
