Monica Brooks-Buck admits she went through a range of emotions upon learning about her selection to be a member of the Elite 11 in the Transition Trucking’s 2026 Driving For Excellence Award program. The early August announcement of the semifinalists provided an “exclamation point” on what’s been a time of change for the retired Army Supply Specialist.
“I had been retired (from the Army) for a couple of years, and I was enjoying getting out and playing tennis,” explained Brooks-Buck, before noting the transition she knew was coming in her life.
“It finally hit me that our son was going to be graduating from high school soon, and I had to get a life of my own,” she continued. “I told my husband that I wanted to get on the truck with him.”
Johnny Buck, a fellow Army retiree, had already transitioned into trucking, finding a home at Werner Enterprises. He was very receptive to having his wife join him on the truck — but he recommended that she consider a role that would be more involved than just riding in the jump seat.
“Johnny said, ‘Hey, why don’t you get your CDL?’ And, that’s exactly what I did,” said Brooks-Buck, noting that the study and work to become a professional driver was familiar territory for her husband.
“We would study together, which was good for both of us. Looking back, it was much easier for me, knowing that he had gone through this process. I was able to just follow his steps,” she shared.
Not long after earning her CDL and going through the driver training program at Werner, a newly minted husband-and-wife team were out on the road.
Less than a year into their new adventure, Brooks-Buck learned about her nomination for the Driving For Excellence Award; then the call came: She had been selected for the Elite 11 list of semifinalists.
“When I found out, I was pretty shocked, because I’m relatively new to the trucking industry,” Brooks-Buck said of making the Elite 11. “Just to be nominated — and then chosen as a semifinalist — I am pretty ecstatic about it.”
Smooth shift into the trucking industry
Looking back at her Army career, it shouldn’t be surprising that Brooks-Buck acclimated so smoothly to her new life on wheels. After all, as an Army Supply Specialist, she was well aware that her military role had placed her within a logistics chain that also relies on trucking.
“In logistics with the military, I was dealing with customers, and I knew how to talk to people. I knew the discipline needed and everything that comes with it,” said Brooks-Buck. “These days, I’m on the other end, moving the product. It just fell in line with what I had already been doing for almost 25 years.
“I feel like they’re both kind of the same thing, except I’m using the big semi-truck to move it instead of having the semi-trucks come to me to issue everything out,” she added. “If I could redo my career, I would probably be a truck driver in the Army, so I would have the best of both worlds.”
Having built a successful career in the male-dominated Army, Brooks-Buck could draw on her military experience while making the transition into a trucking industry where women make up in the neighborhood of 10 percent of the professionals behind the wheel.
“I’ve spent much of my adult life working in environments that were traditionally dominated by men, so entering trucking didn’t feel completely unfamiliar. The military told me early on that I didn’t need to walk into a room and try proving that I belonged there,” observed Brooks-Buck. “I needed to know my job, maintain my standards, take care of my team and let my performance speak for itself.
“I worked to carry that same mentality into trucking. There are certainly challenges that women experience differently in the industry, but I’ve also seen how much the industry has changed and how opportunities are available for women, men alike,” she added. “Being one of two women in the Elite 11 makes me proud. i also hope another woman sees this and she thinks maybe I can do that, too, because she absolutely can.”
Monica Brooks-Buck’s interview video appears below. Readers may also click here to view the video on YouTube or click here to hear an audio-only version.
The benefits of meeting a challenge
As a young person looking at the possible directions she could take in life, Brooks-Buck saw enlisting in the Army as a path that would challenge her maturity at the time, while also providing opportunities for growth.
“I joined for a change, but I stayed for the commitment,” she explained. “I like that the Army taught me that leadership isn’t about being the loudest person in the room. Sometimes, leadership is simply being the person who people know they can depend on when things aren’t going according to plan.
“Being in logistics, I was able to put myself in that position, regardless of rank,” she continued. “I was that person that if you needed food, if you needed uniforms, gear — whatever you needed — you had to come to me. I was very appreciative to be the person people depended on.”
These days, in the first year of directly working in the rolling portion of the supply chain, Brooks-Buck has more than proven she is capable of doing what it takes to navigate that “first mile” and continue to move forward in a sector of the logistics industry that’s still very new to her.
Alongside her husband as part of a team, she is meeting the challenge that can open the doors on a second career in trucking that is filled with possibilities. Trucking also has a future that can be informed by her experiences in the military.
“It wasn’t hard, because I love learning new things and I’m always up for a challenge,” she observed of transitioning into trucking. “I learned that I’m still capable of being a beginner. I went from being highly experienced and respected in one profession to voluntarily into another industry where I had to learn all over again.
“For me, discovering how much professionalism and judgment the job actually requires is just like a true transition from the military because I had to do the same thing in the military once I started there as well,” she added.
Goals and realizations for the road ahead
Looking ahead to the next five to 10 years, Brooks-Buck is focused on becoming an accomplished professional driver with an excellent safety record. Eventually, she says, she would like to be in a position where she can mentor new drivers, especially veterans and women entering the trucking industry.
With a vision of her future that has the benefit of being informed by her past in the military, Brooks-Buck is building a solid understanding of what it takes to be a strong link in the supply chain as part of a professional driving team.
From her first year on the road, she knows that getting the most out of what trucking has to offer will rely in large part on one important principle that was at the heart of each of her days in the Army.
“What I learned during this first year in trucking is that service can take many forms,” said Brooks-Buck. “I’m still serving people, and I’m still part of a team. I’m still responsible for accomplishing missions safely. The uniform just looks different now.
“I’m grateful to be a part of the Elite 11, and grateful for everyone who helped me get here,” she continued. “To think that I went from being at home to being out here driving with my husband. Trucking is amazing to me, and I’m excited to see where this industry takes me next.”
Greg Thompson is an award-winning writer and producer who has worked in the trucking industry in a variety of roles since 1998. With more than a decade’s worth of experience as a journalist prior entering trucking, Greg is the founder and executive producer of PodWheels.com, a podcast network dedicated to spotlighting the trucking industry.
Since 2019, PodWheels has provided specialized coverage of the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships. Over its history, the NTDC Podcast Series has provided more than 150 hours of podcast content highlighting the competitors, organizers and volunteers involved with the Truck Driving Championships at both the state and national levels. The NTDC program, which is hosted annually by the American Trucking Associations, has a history that dates back to 1937.
Beginning in 2025, PodWheels was chosen by the ATA to serve as the Official Podcaster for the NTDC. PodWheels’ coverage of the NTDC, including state competitions and other features, is available through RoadToNTDC.com.
