Transportation Department wants veterans to become truck drivers

The federal government is hoping that veterans who drove heavy military vehicles will drive large freight trucks. On Friday, the Department of Transportation announced a new interagency effort to encourage veterans to step in to fill commercial trucking jobs around the country.

Specifically, the campaign wants veterans with a particular career history of having driven similarly large vehicles. The new push, which the Trump administration is calling the “Freedom Haulers” initiative, argues that they have the skills to make the transition into truck driving. The government is launching an ad campaign to help sell the pitch.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying 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,” Duffy said in a statement.

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The Department of Transportation formally announced the campaign on Friday, after President Donald Trump first proposed the plan earlier this month. The new push echoes one from the spring of 2025, when the department encouraged veteran military air traffic controllers to join the Federal Aviation Administration in parallel roles.

Veterans interested would need to acquire a commercial driver’s license. Veterans with heavy military vehicle experience can apply for waivers from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to get licensed without certain “redundant” road tests. According…