Driven to serve

Transitioning military members may be a key to solving some of the hiring and retention issues facing the trucking industry.

Software development company Fastport was among the presenters during the Value of Veteran Drivers event on March 24 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky.

The lecture, presented by Veterans in Trucking, was part of the Pro Talks education series at MATS.

One of Fastport’s goals is to help transitioning service members find jobs in trucking. The company is also a U.S. Department of Labor-funded intermediary working to establish registered apprenticeship programs in the transportation industry.

Dave Harrison, executive director for national apprenticeships and military program management for Fastport, said transitioning service members possess a valuable set of soft skills. These include leadership, adaptability, loyalty, integrity and work ethic. Harrison said those skills are one of the big reasons veterans make good drivers.

“No one is getting these skills in college or in high school,” Harrison said. “Sadly, most aren’t getting them at home. Veterans have all these soft skills, and those are what employers need.”

Marcia Luchenbill, who served four years in the U.S. Army, has spent the past two years as a driver for Phoenix-based Knight Transportation. She echoes the sentiment that life in the military prepares you for a career in trucking.

“You get tough, and you get resilient. And you kind of learn what to complain about,” Luchenbill told Land Line. “It’s not about my comfort. It’s about we’ve got a mission and we have to accomplish it. Go get it done. And I don’t need to listen to you cry like a baby about it.”

Luchenbill obtained her CDL at a school exclusively for active duty military and veterans.

She said that made it easy to access G.I. Bill benefits and other programs offered to transition service members. Since joining Knight, she has returned to the school to recruit other veterans. To her, the parallels between life in the Army and life on the road are clear.

“In the Army you’re pretty much living out of a backpack,” she said. “Driving in a vehicle, don’t know where your next meal, shower or bathroom visit is going to be. So it’s like, ‘Yeah, I got this!’”

Apprenticeship programs have an impact on driver retention.

According to data from Fastport, 94% of new truck driver apprentices remain at their employer after their apprenticeship has ended. Additionally, employers with registered apprenticeship programs can offer G.I. Bill benefits to veterans.

“That’s money on top of the salary you’re paying your driver,” Harrison said. “I gotta imagine that’s a pretty good recruiting and retention tool.”

Harrison, who served as an adviser for President Joe Biden’s Trucking Action Plan, said he believes the call to serve is another reason former military members make a smooth transition to the industry.

“We know without the military, this country dies. We also know that without this industry, this country dies. In that sense, we’re still serving,” he said. LL