Five Soldiers, who are in the process of transitioning out of the Army, will soon hit American highways as truck drivers for ABF Freight.
Chris Smith, ABF Instructor, said he has full confidence in these Soldiers' ability to share the road with others in a safe manner. If he didn't, they wouldn't have even made it to the testing process, he said.
"You know, you have family out there, as do I," Smith said. "We have kids, grandkids out there. I don't want somebody who's going to be unsafe driving. Before that happens, we're going to make sure they're safe."
If they are not, they either go for more training or as is often the case, they are dropped from the course.
Smith and Jerry Hill, supervisor for driver development, said truck driving can be more stressful than some people think.
"Some folks may have the heart to do it, they just don't have the ability," Hill said. "There's a lot of things coming at you all at once, a lot of stress involved and it's just its not for everybody."
The traffic patterns, especially in large cities and the time away from home are parts of the job that lend to the stress.
However, for Master Sgt. Joshua Tyler, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, the six days on the road and two days off are more palatable for him and his family than the long deployments he had overseas.
He will retire after 22 years and is looking forward to the next chapter of his life.
"I think truck driving is a good emotional and mental reset," he said. "I just want to worry about me and my family and not really have to worry about my Soldiers and my subordinates anymore. I want to put myself and my family first, which was not my mentality for 22 years. Then, after about a year with ABF I'll have to decide what I really want to do when I grow up."
He and his fellow graduates had an informal graduation ceremony on March 14. They'd spent the past six weeks putting in 180 hours of behind-the-wheel training and 60 hours of classroom training.
"We get more training than most regular schools do," Hill said. "We probably have higher standards when it comes to our training, even the federal government doesn't set standards this high."
He said each state has different requirements, but ABF established their own standards.
"As far as the safety, we're one of the safest companies out there," Smith said. "I'd like to keep it that way."
The course was offered as part of the Soldier for Life program. Mitchell Foley, transition service manager, said the ABF course has graduated about 200 Soldiers over the past few years.
"They have 100 percent Soldier getting jobs as soon as they complete the course," he said. "And that's a huge benefit to the Army because you're not having to pay unemployment when the Soldiers transition. They're going straight into meaningful employment that's going to be able to sustain their families -- that's huge."
It's huge for Tyler who is leaving a job he loved.
"I love the Army, but I can't wait to see what happens in the future," he said.
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