Comments By Ken P.

Ken P.

Those are some truthful words you have spoken. Sometimes the spirit and mind is fragile and it's not worth the paper its printed on. Agreed. Maybe the health benefits and pay are over-rated in the end. I always wondered about that because I have worked with so many former military men who have said to me "I regret leaving the army or air force and not doing my 20 years." I say to them re-enlist if you are still within the age requirements. Some say ..."no, been there done that." Of course the older ex soldiers have said I wish I did my 20 and got my pension, etc and are now working in customer service or another occupation.

I'll never regret my decision to join. I got a lot of great experience, learned new skills, good training and the best of friends. My wife and I just decided that that wasn't going to be the best fit for our family long-term. I've always loved being on long road trips and seeing new places. I think trucking is the best fit. I'm sure after a while it gets tiresome being on the road all the time, but if a career was fun 100% of the time, they wouldn't have to pay you to do it, and with the healthcare benefits, pay and 401k, it's similar enough to military life for me. Structured and mission driven, but with a little more freedom and autonomy. I don't know why I didn't look into this a while back. It just makes sense.

Thanks for serving! I'm retired USAF. Regarding the replacement DD-214. They can be ordered online. I got a spare a few years ago when I was nervous about letting the original out of my hands. Check www.nvf.org and www.archives.gov. It takes 3-4 weeks.

Also, check with some companies. Swift offers vet scholarships and partial grants and also has a repay with 13 month service with them. I'm already talking to the recruiter and I've been out over 20 years. Swift and others like the work ethic veterans bring to the workforce. I've found nothing but lip-service to vets in the white-color arena I've been in since retirement.

Good luck with you research and future endeavors.

Good to know. Always interested to find VA friendly companies. Some of the companies I've looked at list a 'money up front'. Do you know if that get deducted from your future earnings or do I need to show up with cash up front? I'm not in the best shape financially at the moment. My savings got drained in the past four months while I've been job hunting (although I will admit I took a month off and did nothing when I first got out. After 9 years, kind of wanted a vacation).

Ken P.

How come you didn't do the full 20? You would have gotten a pension and medical benefits for life. To me, that is like winning the lottery in today's economy. I always look at the servicemen who do their full 20 and I sometimes feel envy. Can you imagine collecting $25,000 per year and not have to worry about healthcare ever again especially the young ones who retire at age 38. My gosh.

If I only knew then when I know now. Of course, the military is not an easy life with constant deployments, uprooting a family, taking **** from fellow officers, and the grind of the job. I've always been interested in soldiers who get out of the military before 20 years and those who stay the full 20 to get the pot of gold at the end. Are they a different breed?

I had origionally planned to stay the full 20 years, but things happened along the way that changed things. During my deployment, I had a few issues.... hell, I struggled with some of the events we went through and although everyone handles it differently, certain things changed me and not for the better. I almost ruined my marriage, I was angry all the time, which alienated my kids. Well...it took me to a bad place in my head. I got the help I needed and repaired my family life...repaired me. At the risk of sounding weak, the human mind is a fragile thing and each person has thier breaking point. I didn't reach mine but it was too close for comfort. All the money and benefits in the world aren't worth the paper thier printed on if your spirit is broken and you're all alone. I did what I thought was best for my family. I have no regrets although I do miss the comradery; however, I agree that those who can go the full distance and still be who they want to be, they certainly have earned my respect.

On a different note, I'm trying to find which company will be the best fit for me. My biggest selling points, I want a solid health care plan (have a son with type 1 diabetes), and I want to be able to see my family at least every couple weeks. I don't mind sucking it up for a year or two (can't spell success without suck) but want to find a company that is fdairly local so I can be a husband and a father on more that a part-time basis. I'm in central Missouri. Ideas?

Ken, Sorry for the delay in responding an the question about VA benefits if it was intrusive.

The reason I asked is because I used post 9/11 to pay for truck driving academy at a local college. In addition to the tuition, I also received a housing allowance and funding for books. Since the school was local, I did not have to use the BAH for living accomodations.

I also see some companies advertising using VA benefits for apprenticeship. I haven't researched that, but looks like a monthly payment for a year.

Not at all intrusive. There are so many VA benefits now vs. 2009 that I wasn't sure what you meant. I found a really good link to 'Troops to Transportation' that gave me a good bit of information. Prime seems to have a solid base for what I'm looking for but I'm still researching. Hoping to start my training here in the next few weeks.

Ken, don't ignore Company-Sponsored Training programs. You don't even need your GI benefits to get started if you go that route. Follow that link and you can find a lot of information on companies that will pay for your training and pay you while you are training.

Thanks so much for your service, we all appreciate it, and feel free to jump in here anytime you come up with a question. The only dumb questions are the ones that don't get asked.

Appreciate the info. If I can work that angle, that would denifinitely be prefereable so I can save my GI Bill for my Bachelors. I have my homework cut out for me as I have zero knowledge about semi's. I was conned by my 1st line supervisor at my first unit when he told me not to return until I had a box of spark plugs for the HUMVEE. Lesson learned on that one. Aside from the High Road Online, any particular areas of study I should be looking at?

I'm actually working part-time at a hospital now as Patient Advocate, but I don't see a real stable future in it and the medical field is already too competitive for not much income. I had though about a career as a S.W.A.T. medic since I trained with them and recieved my EMT-Tactical certification, but to be honest, I kind of got burnt out in the medical field. As far as waiting on funding, I already got my GI benefits approved and was about to begin classes for my Bachelors in Environmental Science as there are a lot of positions in the mid-west for conservationalists, park rangers, geo-techs etc... So a grant won't be necessary as I've been approved for 100% tuition. As far as my DD214, I have several copies on both paper and different .pdf files in separate hard drives. I lost my DD214 from the Air Force and remember how hard it was to obtain that. I wasn't about to make that mistake again. I appreciate everyone's support and correspondance and I'll definitely be looking into some of your suggestions.

That's kind of a vague question. I recieved an honorable discharge and am therefore entitled to any VA benefits as any other vet who recieved an honorable. I just received a call from a friend who told me about 'Troops into Transportation'. Apparently they use my GI Bill towards the tuition of the school and then ensure I have a position with the company of my choosing upon getting licensed. I'm looking into that. I just want to do my homework before I jump into anything.

I appreciate the support. No worries, I'm not discouraged that easily. I've driven everything from a HUMVEE to a 5-ton, but they were all automatic. Looking forward to learning a new trade, though I'm a little apprehensive about getting the hang of the shifting.

I recently completed a 9 year stint in the Army as a Combat Medic. After looking through 100's of job listings over the past few months, I slowly began to realize the transition wouldn't be as seamless as I first suspected. All the job boards had one thing in common. Lots and lots of listings for CDLs. I'm trying to find out the best option for my family. I've looked at a few different companies that will pay for me to get my CDL; however, due to my current financial situation, I am trying to find one that doesn't require me to come out of pocket to start with. Does anyone know of any or if there are companies out there that have options for Veterans? Thank you in advance for your replies.