VA Apprenticeship Program: A Company List (working)

The purpose of this post is to develop a consolidated list of companies that offer the VA Apprenticeship Program. This is a working list so please add to it.

VA Apprenticeship Program: A Company list (working)

*Note 1: Generally, the VA Apprenticeship Program allows a veteran who is eligible for GI Bill benefits (Montgomery or Post 9/11) to receive tax-free money once a month during their first, and sometimes second, year driving. This income is a supplement to your company paycheck.

*Note 2: There are many private CDL schools that also accept the GI Bill.

Company list (working):

Crete

Roehl

Werner

Melton

TMC

US Xpress

Thanks!

Maverick

I'm still upset with Congress putting a limit on the Montgomery GI Bill. When I got out of the Air Force in 96, we were told it would always be there and come to find out, if you didn't use those benefits within 10 years of your separation date, they are now gone.

I'm still upset with Congress putting a limit on the Montgomery GI Bill. When I got out of the Air Force in 96, we were told it would always be there and come to find out, if you didn't use those benefits within 10 years of your separation date, they are now gone.

Yeah the Montgomery is 10 years from EAS, and post 9/11 is 15 years from your EAS. Sucks that you missed out on those benefits though.

Company list (working):

Crete

Roehl

Werner

Melton

TMC

US Xpress

Schneider

C.T. Transportation (part of Comcar)

Hogan

Pam

Covenant

Cargo Transporters

EPES

Wil-Trans

Con-Way TL

Jim Palmer (bought out recently, I think)

May Trucking

Trans-Am

Watkins-Shepard

Shaffer (reefer div. of Crete)

Use this site to see the rate: http://department-of-veterans-affairs.github.io/gi-bill-comparison-tool/

You can go to this comparison tool and type in keywords like, 'trucking' 'truck lines' 'transport' etc. It'll bring up a list of companies with those keywords in their names. Melton 'truck lines', Roehl 'Transport' etc...

I'd speak to a recruiter about the details, on the aforementioned website it says Stevens is an OJT/Apprenticeship paying $1749/mo. I thought this would be for a year but a recruiter told me it was only for their school. That was awhile back, so it may have changed. I wouldn't mind $1749/mo, but you could pick a company that pays well and use your GI Bill to take online classes in the truck when your shift is over, that's what I do. Just use my smartphone for a mobile hotspot and voila! Going full time it's $750/mo for all online classes.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

I'd like to start by saying thank you for creating this list. I'm sure it is helpful for many vets considering trucking. It took me a while to know what to google to be able to find this thread though, I had no idea I could use my G.I. bill for a trucking apprenticeship, I thought it was only for truck driving school itself, up until a week or two ago.

I get my DD 214 in 43 days (but whos counting) and start my 55 days of terminal leave. I have an issue of not being able to start using my G.I. bill up until the end of my terminal leave, or there will be issues since I'm still active duty up until then. I want and need to get started with training ASAP when I start terminal leave.

Any advice for my situation? I was looking at different options and it appears swift has a training location right next to where I'm moving and swift offers scholarships for veterans, so training would be free and I'd not have to use any of my school benefits. I've read mixed reviews on swift, but is it a decent enough company to get my foot in the door and experience? Thanks for any replies.

Any advice for my situation? I was looking at different options and it appears swift has a training location right next to where I'm moving and swift offers scholarships for veterans, so training would be free and I'd not have to use any of my school benefits. I've read mixed reviews on swift, but is it a decent enough company to get my foot in the door and experience? Thanks for any replies.

Any big company is going to have people ticked off at it. From what I have heard, the best company is one you go to planning to make it work and get it done.

I'd like to start by saying thank you for creating this list. I'm sure it is helpful for many vets considering trucking. It took me a while to know what to google to be able to find this thread though, I had no idea I could use my G.I. bill for a trucking apprenticeship, I thought it was only for truck driving school itself, up until a week or two ago.

I get my DD 214 in 43 days (but whos counting) and start my 55 days of terminal leave. I have an issue of not being able to start using my G.I. bill up until the end of my terminal leave, or there will be issues since I'm still active duty up until then. I want and need to get started with training ASAP when I start terminal leave.

Any advice for my situation? I was looking at different options and it appears swift has a training location right next to where I'm moving and swift offers scholarships for veterans, so training would be free and I'd not have to use any of my school benefits. I've read mixed reviews on swift, but is it a decent enough company to get my foot in the door and experience? Thanks for any replies.

Daniel D. -

As a Navy VET with Post 9/11 benefits, I have two recommendations, both require you to stand-by until your EAOS:

1. Goto GI Bill approved private/community college driving school, which if you have 100% benie then the school will be paid for and you'll get your permit and other fees paid for along with the book stipen. Upon graduation and receipt of your Class A, goto work for a VA Apprenticeship/On-The-Job-Training approved trucking company. One such approved, is Werner. I spoke to Lauren Woods who is one of their certifying officials for the company. You can use up to 24mo of the GI Bill for OJT with them, so you can bank over $20k tax-free.

2. Goto VA approved trucking company and earn your license thru them and participate in their Apprenticeship/OJT program.

I personally recommend first option, which is what I intend to do, as it will give you more "buck for the bang" and it will give you a couple months to navigate back to being a civie and searching for the right VA approved company to work for.

~scott

I just completed my CDL training while on terminal leave. School was paid 100%, I lost out on my BAH since still on terminal but I received a check for $1000 since it counted as 40 credit hours. The school also pays me back for the cost of my learner's permit and licensing fee.

Just trying to decide which apprenticeship program to go with. I'm between Crete and Wil-Trans. Some of those companies aren't hiring in the coastal area of NC.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

I ended up waiting it out and getting a job while on terminal leave. I moved to Phoenix and started at a school on Monday and just got my permit yesterday! So in the next 2-3 weeks, if all goes as planned, I should have my Class A license.

I'm leaning towards Roehl, which is very close to where my school is and they offer two years of apprenticeship and drawing BAH, which I know some of the other companies only offer a year. Thanks again for this list though, because now that I have my permit I need to really start focusing in on which company I want to work for and which offers the best benefits for me.