Ex-military Training to Drive Trucks

Is the answer to the driver shortage having ex-military personnel fill the void? During the last five years, over two hundred fifty former marines and sailors have learned to drive trucks while finishing their tours of duty in Twenty Nine Palms, California.

If you look at the shortage from the trucking companies’ perspective, hiring ex-military is a no-brainer. They trained to follow orders, accustomed to working odd hours, managing lengthy separations from their families, and making do with short supplies, little sleep and enduring all kinds of weather. Sounds almost like a trucker built to specifications. Right?

But it doesn’t look as if the ex-military folks are going to be competing heavily for the open trucking jobs. Many of the military personnel who are graduating from the truck driving school in Southern California figure the commercial drivers license will be a good fallback career, since trucking jobs will continue to be readily available in the future. The American Trucking Associations, estimates over half a million truckers will be needed during the next decade.

So what does the driver shortage mean to you? Has it made you more valuable to your company? Have you gotten any more appreciation for what you do, has the public even noticed that truckers are beginning to be a bit scarce? What’s it going to take for consumers to notice there aren’t enough truckers--, long lines, higher prices and ultimately empty shelves?

Something to think about…