Pre Newbie

Hi all I have been stalking u all for several weeks now and decided to join ,a little about me my name is Steve ,grew up with a grandpa who was a trucker ,he drove a one stack Mack with a shack as he called it lol. Anyway I am a partially disabled vet at 51 years old let’s just say at 20 I saw a lot of nasty stuff .anyhow the va is thinking about letting me re enter the workforce and the voc rehab people think I am suited to trucking , now mind u I am on zero controlled substance or super PTSD meds I have already checked with dot and none of mine matter . Now I am rambling and I apologize for that but I have a bunch of family members saying no go to a factory and I would rather go back to Afghanistan with a B.B. gun than do factory work so I guess I am just saying hi and putting out there that I really enjoy this site and I have only applied at Millis transfer so far and any of u all that have read this far feel free to give me your thoughts opinions etc please no negativity I have enough family for that bs Any way god bless talk to u all soon

Welcome Stephen. You'll find nothing but encouragement from us here. There's a wealth of information to be had. Feel free to jump into any of the conversations and come forward with any questions of your own. Good luck!

I am planning to start my cdl school Aug 27 and then going to CFI,I will tell you CFI also has company sponsored training program in Missouri for a one year contract with them, I am going to TDI then to CFI also they have Military Apprenticeship program where you get Tax free money from VA for one year..I am not a recruiter for them just telling my story and if you would like more info on CFI I can tell you what I have been told by recruiter and from another source

Hi all I have been stalking u all for several weeks now and decided to join ,a little about me my name is Steve ,grew up with a grandpa who was a trucker ,he drove a one stack Mack with a shack as he called it lol. Anyway I am a partially disabled vet at 51 years old let’s just say at 20 I saw a lot of nasty stuff .anyhow the va is thinking about letting me re enter the workforce and the voc rehab people think I am suited to trucking , now mind u I am on zero controlled substance or super PTSD meds I have already checked with dot and none of mine matter . Now I am rambling and I apologize for that but I have a bunch of family members saying no go to a factory and I would rather go back to Afghanistan with a B.B. gun than do factory work so I guess I am just saying hi and putting out there that I really enjoy this site and I have only applied at Millis transfer so far and any of u all that have read this far feel free to give me your thoughts opinions etc please no negativity I have enough family for that bs Any way god bless talk to u all soon

Ty and I will ask if I come up with any

I am planning to start my cdl school Aug 27 and then going to CFI,I will tell you CFI also has company sponsored training program in Missouri for a one year contract with them, I am going to TDI then to CFI also they have Military Apprenticeship program where you get Tax free money from VA for one year..I am not a recruiter for them just telling my story and if you would like more info on CFI I can tell you what I have been told by recruiter and from another source

Hi all I have been stalking u all for several weeks now and decided to join ,a little about me my name is Steve ,grew up with a grandpa who was a trucker ,he drove a one stack Mack with a shack as he called it lol. Anyway I am a partially disabled vet at 51 years old let’s just say at 20 I saw a lot of nasty stuff .anyhow the va is thinking about letting me re enter the workforce and the voc rehab people think I am suited to trucking , now mind u I am on zero controlled substance or super PTSD meds I have already checked with dot and none of mine matter . Now I am rambling and I apologize for that but I have a bunch of family members saying no go to a factory and I would rather go back to Afghanistan with a B.B. gun than do factory work so I guess I am just saying hi and putting out there that I really enjoy this site and I have only applied at Millis transfer so far and any of u all that have read this far feel free to give me your thoughts opinions etc please no negativity I have enough family for that bs Any way god bless talk to u all soon

Hi and thank you for your service.

You need to ask yourself how well you know your triggers and what will happen if you are triggered? how will you cope?

heres an example... one of the truck stops has an annual event "the trucker jamboree". they had a huge firework display above the 400 parked trucks. my first thought were of combat vets. I worked with a ton of Vietnam.vets at the USPS and saw many have flashbacks and get triggered. we co workers knew how to help and coukd usually talk them back.

so will you react badly to a car backfiring, a tire blow out, or get this...last night kids were throwing fireworks at vehicles in the street.

Also to keep in mind, just because DOT will allow a certain prescription it does not mean an employer will. A company could ask you to change meds and come.back after 30 days. could you do that?

Also, would teaming be a better or worse option for you?

I know guys with PTSD who do better if there is someone there to help.calm them, and i know guys who get angry and violent so it is better to be alone. Some companies are teaming only, so take that into consideration. Training will be one on one for weeks to.montbs alone in a truck with a trainer. Can you deal with that?

Do you have fits of rage? If so, is it advisable to hand you the keys to an 80k pound machine that could endanger families on the road?

Different vets have different reactions. My ex used to scan every room, would sit facing doors, stay away from crowds....and the worst were the nightmares. every night he jumped into the shower to wash the blood off. didnt matter where we were. that type of reaction would not be good OTR. he couldnt stand confined spaces and i think a truck would be too small for him. he had alot of anger and would get into fights. i could see him hitting a cop if stopped. Other vets i know just cry.

This is not negativity, this is reality. Be sure to analyze every angle and truly know what you need to do in order to keep yourself and the public safe.

Trucking is awesome and i truly hope it could help you. But please make sure you are not putting yourself or others in a situatiion that could make you worse.

Your mental health is most important. Do what is best for you.

good.luck

I thank u for the advice and I am considering everything at this point ,I do not have problems with anger/rage more of I lived and my buddies didn’t type guilt if that makes any sense and no not a big fan of fireworks but that is something I can handle and I think team may be a good option , I am actually filling out the form on the site to apply at all of companies that train , I am also eligible to go to a local academy here in Ohio called Apollo they use older equipment mainly 10 speeds and I think I would like to be able to drive both manual and auto ,rambling again but once again I thank u for all your advice it’s much appreciated. Steve

Hi and thank you for your service.

You need to ask yourself how well you know your triggers and what will happen if you are triggered? how will you cope?

heres an example... one of the truck stops has an annual event "the trucker jamboree". they had a huge firework display above the 400 parked trucks. my first thought were of combat vets. I worked with a ton of Vietnam.vets at the USPS and saw many have flashbacks and get triggered. we co workers knew how to help and coukd usually talk them back.

so will you react badly to a car backfiring, a tire blow out, or get this...last night kids were throwing fireworks at vehicles in the street.

Also to keep in mind, just because DOT will allow a certain prescription it does not mean an employer will. A company could ask you to change meds and come.back after 30 days. could you do that?

Also, would teaming be a better or worse option for you?

I know guys with PTSD who do better if there is someone there to help.calm them, and i know guys who get angry and violent so it is better to be alone. Some companies are teaming only, so take that into consideration. Training will be one on one for weeks to.montbs alone in a truck with a trainer. Can you deal with that?

Do you have fits of rage? If so, is it advisable to hand you the keys to an 80k pound machine that could endanger families on the road?

Different vets have different reactions. My ex used to scan every room, would sit facing doors, stay away from crowds....and the worst were the nightmares. every night he jumped into the shower to wash the blood off. didnt matter where we were. that type of reaction would not be good OTR. he couldnt stand confined spaces and i think a truck would be too small for him. he had alot of anger and would get into fights. i could see him hitting a cop if stopped. Other vets i know just cry.

This is not negativity, this is reality. Be sure to analyze every angle and truly know what you need to do in order to keep yourself and the public safe.

Trucking is awesome and i truly hope it could help you. But please make sure you are not putting yourself or others in a situatiion that could make you worse.

Your mental health is most important. Do what is best for you.

good.luck