From News Nation:
“US veterans filling key jobs
as long-haul truck drivers”
The nation’s truck drivers work
day and night to keep goods moving. They deliver food, the clothes we wear and
just about everything we see stocked on store shelves. Among those drivers are
U.S. veterans who tirelessly work to serve our country — just in a different
way. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 10 truck drivers is a veteran.
That means there are about 350,000 U.S. armed services veterans behind the
wheel of a tractor-trailer on the road. According to an industry expert, their
military skill sets bring added benefits to being a truck driver. But before
his life on the road, Joe Feigl was a Chinook helicopter mechanic based at Fort
Campbell, Kentucky. “We keep America rollin’,” he said. Feigl has been behind
the wheel of a big rig for 24 years. “There’s a lot of self-discipline in
driving a truck,” he said. “And I learned a lot of that in the Army. There’s
long hours, and you have to always have your head on a pivot. You know, you
have to pay attention all the time.” The skills are so transferable that a lot
of veterans move on to the trucking life. And with 80,000 vacant truck driver
positions, there are plenty of seats to fill.
Steve Gould is the founder of 160
Driving Academy, a very large national independent commercial driver’s school. “The
reason why veterans make excellent truck drivers just when they were in the
military or in the military services, they likely drove something … something
big,” he said. According to Gould, about 20% of its student base is veterans,
and he would like to see more. “They understand, you know, being on time to
school, they understand like this is a serious responsibility. There’s safety
involved, you’re driving an 80,000-pound vehicle down the highway with other
people around you,” Gould said. “So they take it super seriously, and many of
them are some of our best students.” Studies have shown that veteran truck
drivers had 42% fewer accidents than non-veteran drivers in recent years. And
for these drivers, it’s not just a job. It’s a lifestyle. “It’s an experience
like no other,” Feigl said. “It’s like being a bomber pilot. You never know
what the next day’s mission is going to take you.”
Veterans interested in becoming
drivers can reach out to the American Legion, the Wounded Warrior Project or
contact the Department of Veterans Affairs through their website.
^ It doesn’t surprise me that
Veterans are doing this. They risked their lives to protect us when they
actively served as Soldiers and now they are helping to keep us supply with
food and other things as Veterans. They are truly great and honorable people. ^
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