If you become a truck driver in the Army

Depends on the company.

 

Most likely. There might be some schools that don't meet the minimum requirements of the GI bill.

 

If you think you need to go to a school and you've been driving trucks in the military I'd go to a GOOD school like a community college and NOT a CDL Mill or a trucking company school! Don't get bent by these scam schools and bottom feeder companies! But to tell you the truth. STAY IN! Put in 20 and take the 20 year retirement! You've at least put in 3 so if you went in at 18 you'll retire at the ripe old age of 38 years young! THEN come out here and scratch out a living! You can't beat those numbers!

 

Don't be discouraged by me, but if you're joining the Army why not be all you can be? There are so many better jobs than driving a truck. Satellite communications, helicopter pilot, or you could be like me Infantry.

 

You've driven for the Army (41m?)? Why not find your bases LBE (left behind equipment) program? Many base jobs love to hire military truckers. At $20/hr and home nightly. As a GI trucker, you already know the Hemmit, PLS etc. And the gaining company will help you get through the school.

Luck, Pal

 

That's what I did but I retired at 36. I went in the Navy a month after I turned 17 and I had what they called constructive time (3 months) so I was able to retire at 19 years 9 months.

I was lucky that I got station ashore and the east coast was on a 4 days work week. I went and got a part time job driving a truck. I drove out of Jacksonville FL for 3 years and then went to sea. After that I had to change jobs and went into the Navy Seabees driving more trucks.


There's pros and cons about comparing driving in the military with the civilian companies. Some will not take your military experience as OTR because they feel it's on base or conrtolled. Very few will if you can show them you were driving a truck comparable to a highway truck. A 21/2 ton just doesn't match up. I was lucky because I was stationed at a job that required hauling heavy equipment all across the states and had pictures.

The majority of the companies want you just for the fact that you were in the military. They figure you'll be easier to train with less ########. But like I said you'll have to prove your truck in the service is similar to what they have.

And ROLLOVER is right. Not only will you have the pay to fall back onto but you'll have the benefits. You can decline the company's medical and dental. You can buy your groceries if you're near a base. Those are big savings and add more money in your pocket. So it would be wise to stay in.

If you don't believe us, line up 10 older veterans and ask them do they wished they would have stayed?

 

I got RIFFED in 75. You know what happened then? Vietnam closed! I was Signal Corps in a dead end MOS anyway and if it wasn't that I was crossed trained to drive every piece of Army equipment except for tracked vehicles There is no telling what I'd be doing now! I guess being P. P. at a training base helped as that monthly "duty week" is how I got all of those licenses! OK I did have 7 on it by the time I got to Ft.Gordon! 3 of those 3x5 cards stapled together! To tell the truth driving the "drunk bus" from the EM Club to Signal Road was a hoot!
But as we both told you, stay in!