Photo By Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon | Spc. Rusha Adams, an information technology specialist with 1st Squadron, 303rd...... read more read more
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As U.S. service members rolled into Iraq in March 2003, a young girl looked on, watching with excitement from the streets of Baghdad as the world around her changed.
“My dream came true. As the Iraqi Freedom operations started in March of that year, it ended the regime of Saddam Hussein,” Spc. Rusha Adams, an information technology specialist with 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment said.
It was that everlasting memory, seeing how the U.S. military came to help those in need, that drove Adams desire to serve in the military. The path was not always that clear though.
Born in England in 1983, Adams’ father was working toward his master’s and PhD. Upon completing his degrees, the family had to return to Iraq in the summer of 1989.
“I was six, it was such a culture shock moving to Iraq,” Adams said. “One year later, Saddam decided to invade Kuwait, which led to the collapse of the Iraqi economy.”
Adams’ father, due to his higher education and experience, was placed on the ‘forbidden to travel abroad’ list. Their family could not leave the country, and she was forced to stay for all her schooling.
That was until that day in March 2003 when U.S. service members arrived.
“It was really amazing watching them come in. Iraqi families were so grateful,” Adams said.
Free to leave the country, the family packed up and moved to Yemen, where Adams’ father found work as a professor in the college of engineering. She was able to go to school and earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science. In 2014, due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, the family made one more move, this time to Turkey, where Adams’ destiny was about to change.
“Where we lived in Turkey, we were right next to my husband’s family,” said Adams.
She met her husband, Spc. Tony Adams, in 2017 while he was visiting his family. Prior to joining the military, Tony was providing interpreter support to U.S. troops in Iraq. Feeling a sense of duty, he joined the military.
“Our families knew each other, and we got along very quickly, and after a short time dating, we got engaged,” Adams said. “In 2018, we got married while he was stationed in Korea and then moved to the states following a move to Louisiana.”
Still holding on to that feeling of gratitude for what those U.S. troops did for her as a young woman, she felt a strong sense of duty to serve.
“I became really proud being an Army spouse, and it became a dream to bear arms to defend the country I chose to be a citizen in,” Adams said.
After working a few simple jobs to start, they moved to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2023, and that is when she took steps toward fulfilling her dreams of service.
“We moved here, and I earned my U.S. citizenship,” Adams said. “The first thing I wanted to do after getting my citizenship was to join the military, and we loved Washington so much I said I would like to join the National Guard.”
While she wasn’t sure if she could meet the physical demands at age 40, with the help of her husband and recruiter, Adams overcame all the challenges and became an IT specialist in the Washington Army National Guard.
“Because of my background with computer science, IT just seemed like the best fit for me,” Adams said.
For her next adventure, Adams will deploy with 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment, later this year to Africa to support ongoing missions in the region.
“I am really excited because I believe that we can make a difference wherever we go,” Adams said. “Because the way I became free, maybe I can help someone become free one day, and for that I am really so excited.”
| Date Taken: | 03.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2025 13:36 |
| Story ID: | 492524 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 362 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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