A soldier from the Iowa Army National Guard has been recognized as the top Motor Transport Operator noncommissioned officer in the entire Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, according to a press release from the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
Sergeant First Class Rebecca Kasuboski, a Platoon Sergeant based out of Iowa City, has been named the 88M Motor Transport Operator Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for Component 2 and 3 — the highest honor a Motor Transport Operator can receive, representing the pinnacle of logistical and leadership excellence in the Transportation Corps.
The award was presented by U.S. Army Chief of Transportation Colonel Jennifer Karim, alongside Transportation Command Sergeant Major Emanuel T. Stephens and the Chief Warrant Officer of the Transportation Corps.
Kasuboski was nominated by her commander, Captain Nathan Hoeger of the 1133rd Transportation Company, which falls under the 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion — headquartered in Fairfield after relocating from Camp Dodge in Johnston in 2025. Captain Hoeger submitted Kasuboski for the national honor specifically in recognition of her unprecedented workload and execution of complex logistics over the past year — a nomination that speaks to the culture of excellence and recognition within the 1133rd and the 185th.
Over a 10-month period, Kasuboski planned and managed what is described as the largest logistical movement in Iowa’s history — orchestrating the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division’s mobilization from the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, directly to a CENTCOM deployment. During the mobilization, she coordinated over 1,000 commercial line hauls and more than 150 military line hauls to Fort Polk, facilitated the transportation of thousands of pieces of equipment, and assisted in tracking more than $15 million in multi-modal transit assets. Her coordination extended across more than a dozen states.
Her award submission noted that her strategic foresight and adaptability allowed her to build trust with unfamiliar senior leadership and successfully carry out one of the most complex logistical missions in the state’s Guard history. Her Officer in Charge praised her precision, stating her efforts were instrumental to the brigade’s successful movement.
By executing the mission, Kasuboski exemplified the core philosophy of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps: mobility equals lethality and survivability.
The U.S. Army Transportation School, which oversees the Transportation Corps, trains and develops transportation professionals for the total force with a mission of ensuring those professionals and solutions enable the Army to deploy, fight, and win anytime and anywhere.
