Col. Steven Rohlena

COL. STEVEN ROHLENA

Keystone

Col. Steven Lee Rohlena, 49, of Carlisle, Pa., formerly of Keystone, passed away of natural causes Wednesday, July 30, 2014, in his home. Celebration of Life services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 18, at St. Ludmila Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. The family will greet friends from 4 until 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at Brosh Chapel in Cedar Rapids, located at 2121 Bowling St. SW. After services in Iowa, Col. Rohlena will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Suvivors include his wife, Rita Spreu of Carlisle, Pa.; parents, Marv and Bonnie Rohlena of Keystone; brother and sister-in-law, Jeffrey (Nancy Waite) Rohlena of Sioux Falls, S.D.; his grandmother, Darlene Trachta of Cedar Rapids; and his niece and nephews.

Steve was born Nov. 15, 1964, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a 1983 graduate of Benton Community High School and received a bachelor's degree in transportation logistics and ROTC commissioning in 1987 from Iowa State University. He earned his M.A. in administration from Central Michigan University while doing graduate study at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., graduating in 2001. He married his wife, Rita Spreu, on Dec. 6, 2005. In 2011, he received his master's degree in strategic studies at the U.S. Army War College.

Col. Rohlena's first assignment was platoon leader of the 25th Transportation Company, Schofield Barracks in Hawaii from August 1988 through November 1990. In Col. Rohlena's 27 years of active duty, he served at Fort Lewis, Wash., twice. In 1995, he was deployed to Haiti for six months and served as the transportation officer of the United Nations Mission in Haiti. Col. Rohlena was assigned in 1997 to the United Military Training Mission in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 2004 to 2006, he was assigned as joint mobility operations officer at Scott Air Force Base. He was deployed to Seoul, Korea, twice being selected to be battalion commander from 2006 to 2008. In Kuwait, he served as the deputy commander for the 593 Sustainment Brigade. Most recently Col. Rohlena served as the defense logistics advisor for NATO in Brussels, Belgium, from July 2011 until July 2, 2014, receiving the Defense Superior Service Medal.

Currently, he was starting his new assignment serving as senior advisor on strategic logistics at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. Col. Rohlena received 32 awards and decorations during his military career.

Steve was a soldier first and loved his country. Every chance he had, he returned to his farm boy roots to rekindle the life he had growing up. He enjoyed doing all the things civilians take for granted: family events, seeing friends on leave, tractorcades, IH shows, traveling for pleasure, hunting, fishing and motorcycling.

Steve's wit and that twinkle in his eye when teasing will be greatly missed by family and friends.

An extended obituary is available online at www. broshchapel.com where online condolences may be expressed to the family.