Tennessee Tries To Make It Easier To Turn Soldiers Into Truck Drivers

Tennessee has a new plan that it hopes will help more veterans get their trucking licenses.

Officials plan to send two new mobile testing stations to Fort Campbell and other sites around the state.  

The units are meant to make it easier for soldiers with experience driving heavy military equipment to take advantage of a recent change to state law. Military drivers can 
get their Tennessee commercial driver’s licenses simply by passing the written test — no classes or road test required.

“I mean if a soldier can dodge a roadside bomb or an IED
(improvised explosive device), he can drive down I-24 very nicely,” says state Sen. Mark Green, a Clarksville Republican and one of the law’s sponsors.

Officials say soldiers leaving the military can help meet demand for truck drivers. They also say soldiers could benefit from a smoother transition into the civilian workforce.

On Tuesday, Gov. Bill Haslam, Green and other state officials unveiled the first of two specially outfitted  Freightliner buses. They plan to send the buses to military installations, where drivers will be able to 
take the written test and get their trucking licenses on the spot.

The buses were paid for with a $626,000 grant from the federal government that also covers staffing and travel expenses.

The first stop will take place Wednesday, when the buses will be at a career fair in Clarksville.