FORT KNOX, Ky. –
When Rosanna Jessop was named U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s Employee of the Year for Outstanding Program Support last year, it inspired her to work even harder for the Soldiers in the Medical Recruiting Brigade.
“I can rely on her to take on any task,” said Al Tanaka, MRB’s personnel chief. “Nothing is too difficult or too challenging when she is taking care of Soldiers.”
Jessop is a human resources specialist and manages financial actions, debt remission, special duty pay processing, service computation, awards and actions, and updating records for promotion and special boards for Soldiers in the MRB. A big part of Jessop’s job is helping Soldiers make sure their records are accurate.
“She was the first one to question the dates in nine years,” MRB Chaplain Maj. Hochang Min said. “But she looked, and saw what no one else did. She is very detail oriented. She caught that the date of entry and active-duty date were different.”
Min originally joined the Army in 2001 and served as a member of the Individual Ready Reserve until 2008 when he came on active duty. Last year when Jessop and Min completed the annual records review, Jessop questioned the dates in his records.
“In 2008, I was paid as a captain,” Min said. “Rosanna caught the difference, and I got back pay for 10 years… Without her seeing the difference and knowing what to ask, I would have gone without that back pay.”
As the brigade chaplain, Min counsels Soldiers all over the country, and when he hears issues with which Jessop can help, he contacts her for advice.
“I bet I have helped a lot of people because she has been able to find records and get actions done,” Min said.
Jessop has worked for the MRB for four years, and served in the Army as a records specialist before retiring from the service in 2013.
Jessop said the biggest challenge to her job is being thorough.
“There are so many moving pieces,” she said. “Sometimes you are skimming the surface. I feel it’s important to educate, educate, educate the Soldiers. Having them look ahead three to five years to retirement gives me a feeling of accomplishment.”
Jessop is a native Minnesotan, and spends time helping her parents who still live there. In Kentucky, Jessop takes care of a 5-year-old granddaughter, while her Soldier-mother is busy elsewhere. She likes to spend time gardening, biking, being outdoors and refinishing furniture. Jessop spends time with Marlow, her granddaughter, both of them going on “adventures.”
“We go biking, playing in the mud and walking in the woods,” Jessop said.
Jessop shares her knowledge, she acts as handyman for several houses, and can be frequently found eating lunch and explaining the intricacies of plywood versus pressed wood, heating/cooling systems, and replacing decks. When not explaining house maintenance, Jessop is answering questions regarding specific personnel problems brought to her at lunch.
“I share it because information is power,” Jessop said. “The big thing is those that embrace knowledge will really go far. If I don’t know it, I will go research and ask questions until I feel I really understand it.”