Wednesday, December 19, 2001
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Wednesday, December 19, 2001 |
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Local retiree, author was Army's top female commander in Gulf War By CAROLYN
CARY
One of many retired service personnel now living in Fayette County, this U.S. Army colonel was the Army's most senior woman commander in the Gulf War. Col. Jo Rusin, United States Army retired, served 24 years as a soldier and was a support brigade commander. A twice-published author, she recently was a guest speaker at the Fayette County Public Library. Reared in Mississippi, she is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in education. Upon graduation she joined the Army. She met her husband, Johnny, also a retired colonel, in the service. After 21 moves in the marriage, they retired to an older house in Tyrone. Rusin realized that her experiences in an all-volunteer Army gave her an insight into helping others in volunteer programs. She wrote her first book, "Volunteers Wanted: A Practical Guide to Finding and Keeping Good Volunteers," Magnolia Mansions Press, 1999, as a help to volunteers in any situation. Speaking at the library, she related her military experiences and answered all questions, including one on sexual harassment. "In the military," she said, "such situations are taken care of right away. They then become a matter of record. In the private sector, often the situation goes unchecked and then is swept under the rug. It may seem there is a lot of sexual harassment problems in the military but only because they become matters of record." Asked whether women in the military have made it a better institution, Rusin said that when you have a diverse group of people, each one provides a talent. "The more diverse numbers of peoples," she said, "the more talents you have to build on. So yes, I think women have added to the military." Along those lines, her second book, "Move to the Front," Presidio Press, 2001, is a leadership guide for women based on her military experience. Spiced with over 60 stories and examples of her experience, it is filled with common sense solutions that can be adapted to the public work sector. Rusin maintains that if you do your job well and meet the standard, you will be respected by coworkers regardless of your gender or type of work place.
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