Joint Munitions Command Employee Inducted Into Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe

By Mr. Darryl Howlett (AMC)February 26, 2014

Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe
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Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe Medal
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ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- A Joint Munitions Command employee is the newest member of a very prestigious group.

Allen Rus, who serves as chief of JMC's Transportation Division, was inducted into the Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharp during a Feb. 24 ceremony held at JMC Headquarters.

The Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe is a U.S. Ordnance Corps Association honor recognizing individuals in the ordnance field whose deeds have gone above and beyond the norm. The Order was created in 1994.

JMC surprised Rus who had no previous knowledge he was receiving the honor.

The recognition is named after a colonist from Massachusetts. According to the U.S. Ordnance Corps Association's website, Samuel Sharpe was charged with among other duties, the care of the "five pieces of Ordnance: that belonged to the colony."

On April 17, 1629, Sharpe was appointed by the Council of the Plantation in Massachusetts Bay Colonies to be "Master Gunner of Ordnance", a title brought over with the colonist from England.

Rus's achievements included:

• Providing outstanding airlift support for high priority munitions to the Warfighter.

• Planning and executing airlift and sealift for foreign military sales munitions and retrograde of munitions.

• Providing coordination and execution efforts for distribution via sealift of all services' munitions requirements.

• Executing container management direction and 100 percent accountability of assets in support of sustainment stock and retrograde.

• Providing improved munitions movement forecasts to the commercial motor carrier industry to allow for correct fleet sizing to support future operations.

Also present to witness the ceremony was his wife, Mary, who also works for JMC in the Equal Employment Opportunity office.

Trish Huber, deputy to the commanding general, JMC, spoke on Rus's contributions to the government.

"You've done your business behind the scenes and you are a well-hidden secret," she said. "The people you work with, and (U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command) think very highly of you."

From its headquarters here, JMC operates a nationwide network of conventional ammunition manufacturing plants and storage depots, and provides on-site ammunition experts to U.S. combat units wherever they are stationed or deployed. JMC's customers are U.S. forces of all military services, other U.S. Government agencies, and allied nations.