Major Sara M. Shannon is a native of Ottawa, KS. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2009, and after working in civilian government for several years, completed Officer Candidate Course (OCC) in 2013. She graduated from The Basic School in May 2014 and was awarded the Marine Corps Gazette Award for Excellence in Writing.
She completed Basic Communications Officer Course in 2015, and reported to Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) in 29 Palms, CA to serve as Squadron Communications Officer. She served as platoon commander and squadron S6, before detaching to MWSS-371 to deploy to Bahrain as part of Special Purpose MAGTF-Crisis Response-Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC) in 2016. She was the Marine communications officer for Isa Air Base, supporting the MWSS and Harrier squadrons. Upon redeployment, she was the Headquarter Company Commander at MWSS-374, before leaving active service at the end of 2017.
In 2018, she completed a lateral move into artillery and attended Marine Officer Artillery Basic Course at Ft Sill, Oklahoma. She joined the Select Marine Corps Reserves (SMCR) at Battery G, 3d Battalion, 14th Marines, and served as Fire Direction Officer and Guns Platoon Commander. In 2020, she moved to Headquarters Battery and served as the Assistant Operations Officer.
In 2021, she accepted active orders to Okinawa to serve as Assistant Current Fires Officer in the Fires and Effects Coordination Center (FECC), III MEF. She was the senior fires officer on the watch floor for the MEF for two multinational exercises in Japan and South Korea. Upon returning from this activation, she dropped to the Inactive Ready Reserve.
In 2024, Maj Shannon re-joined the SMCR and 3/14, serving as the Assistant Fire Support Coordinator for the battalion, and supporting 25th Regiment’s FSCC during ITX 3-25. She became Commanding Officer of Battery I in July 2025.
She has a Masters in Business Administration from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, and owns a small business in Philadelphia. Her personal decorations include three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and a Navy Unit Commendation Medal.