“It’s not about what you’ve done, it’s about what you’re about to do.”

Roy Ward, Installation CSM

As the home of motor transportation operator training for the U.S. Army, Fort Leonard Wood was the perfect site for the most recent Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) Transition Summit that hosted over 300 transitioning service members, spouses and civilian employees over May 10 and 11th as they gathered to learn more about career opportunities after their transition from the Army.

To help show them the great career opportunities awaiting them in trucking, many industry-leading companies united at the garrison to meet with transitioners in person during workshops, panel discussions and a hiring fair.

Sharri Justice, FASTPORT Military Program Director, represented the trucking and transportation industry during a workshop targeted to help Soldiers better understand the industry’s incredible scope and opportunity.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about transportation, and it’s so gratifying to meet with Soldiers who are eager to learn what the industry truly has to offer them. Many people who enter the field of logistics do so after serving in the U.S. military,” said Justice. “Logistics operations are extremely important in the Armed Forces, and getting positions in supply chain management is rarely a problem.”

“The experience provided by years of military service is often enough for a mid-level logistics position in a civilian organization,” Justice added, “and the transportation industry is ripe with real economic opportunities for our service members.”

Retired Colonel and Senior Director of Events and Program for HOH Chuck Hodges emphasized how important workshops like these are for Soldiers as they begin their transition from the Army: “We want to ensure all the transitioners have all the tools in the tool kit necessary to be a successful transitioner and have all of the knowledge to understand all of the opportunities that are out there for them.”

Hodges continued, “I think the Army has realized that one of the missions we have to accomplish is making sure we’re setting our service members up for successful transition. If we want to maintain the all-volunteer force, we’ve got to make sure the folks who come in are taken care of and, as they head out the door, are taken care of as well or we are not going to have people who want to join.”

After the workshops and panels concluded, a hiring fair at the Nutter Field House concluded the summit. Here, FASTPORT met with many transitioners and Veterans seeking to learn more about their career options with companies in the trucking and transportation industry.