One of the few female leaders in the military is coming to Mississippi State University to speak this week. The Faculty and Professional Women’s Association is sponsoring U.S. Army Col. Leonette Slay of Birmingham, Ala., who will be speaking in the auditorium at Mitchell Memorial Library Wednesday.
Originally from West Point, Slay is one of a minority group of women to become high-ranking officers in the military. She will be discussing women’s roles in the Army as well as her book, ‘When the Old Man is a Woman.'”
“In the Army, the commanding officer is called The Old Man,” Maridith Geuder, program chair for the event, explained. “It is still relatively unusual for women to be in leadership,” she added.
Geuder, who is also Slay’s sister, said that she had been in the army since she attained her master’s degree from the University of Texas’ Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. She is currently in the Army Reserve.
“I am not just talking about this because I am her sister,” Geuder said. “She has a very interesting background.”
Slay is very active in the League of Women Voters and the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
A press release said Slay has been involved in many organizations during her military career. She is serving with the 87th Division out of Birmingham as assistant chief of staff. That division mobilized 15,000 troops for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In the past, Slay has worked at Fort Knox in intelligence, and in administration positions at the Pentagon and in Germany.
She has received the Defense Meritorious Service and Joint Staff Commendation medals, the Horatio Gates Bronze Medal and other honors throughout her career.
“This is a public event, so anyone who is interested should feel free to come,” Geuder said.
Many wonder why there are not more women officers in the military.
“It is rare that women stay in (the military) long enough. I know very few women officers,” Dawn Harrison, a cadet captain for the Bulldog Batallion, said.
The FPWA which is sponsoring this event is a group of women on campus responsible for two scholarships each year and many speakers and events through the year.
“We are an organization of women that focus on women’s issues,” Mattie Sink, president of the FPWA, said. “We try to find things that are stimulating for women, focus on women’s issues and show successful women.”
For more events sponsored by the FPWA, visit www.msstate.edu/org/fpwa.