USDOT campaign calls on military veterans to serve their countries again, this time as truck drivers

Freedom Haulers

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) wants to woo more military veterans into the driver’s seat of the nation’s semi trucks.

On July 24, USDOT announced the Freedom Haulers campaign, an interagency effort to bring more veterans into the trucking industry as the White House pushes to remove immigrant truck drivers from U.S. roadways in the wake of several high-profile crashes.

Officials say that the Freedom Haulers campaign “educates veterans on how there’s never been a better time to join the trucking industry, outlines why veterans backgrounds make them a great fit for the job, and connects them with resources to seamlessly transition from service to driving a big rig.”

The campaign includes digital ads, radio ads, and a microsite providing resources on programs to help veterans transition into trucking, including the GI Bill, the Veterans Readiness and Employment Program, and the CDL skills test waiver available in every state.

You can view one of the digital ads below.

As part of the campaign, USDOT outlined reasons why veterans are well-suited to trucking industry careers:

  • The skills learned in uniform translate to the driver’s seat. Veterans have the expertise, integrity, and discipline to keep America moving.
  • There has never been a better time to get behind the wheel. Thanks to the Trump Administration’s crackdown on fraud and illegal truckers, hourly earnings are on the rise.
  • You enter the workforce making real money on day one. Truckers can choose your own hours, your own schedule, and the companies you work with.
  • It is a fulfilling, mission-first career. Truckers keep our farmers in business, our store shelves stocked and our gas stations supplied.
  • Your training is 100% VA funded. The VA’s tuition cap typically covers 100% of CDL training costs at colleges and technical schools for Veterans who served for at least 36 months.
  • You get a fast-tracked entry. Veterans with heavy vehicle military experience can apply for FMCSA’s waivers to skip redundant road tests–getting you licensed and on the road in just a few weeks.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are removing more and more dangerous foreign drivers off our roads every day and restoring the integrity of America’s trucking industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Our new Freedom Haulers campaign will help build on these successes and get the word out that there’s never been a better time for America’s former service members to get behind the wheel of a big rig. Trucking requires the precision, independence, and discipline that they forged in the military—there’s no one better to tackle the challenge. By answering the call, veterans can leverage their GI Bill benefits and take on a new, essential mission: keep America moving.”

USDOT partnered with the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of War, and the Department of Labor for the campaign.

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