What about Us

Image my rejoicing over the news that there is a program which will help veterans get jobs.  I was so excited to learn more about it so my wife sent me this article titled “DOT Expands Program to Help Veterans Get Jobs as Professional Truck and Bus Drivers”  “Military Skills Test Waiver Program Now Includes all 50 States and D.C.”.  The more I read the more excited I got, finally we have tailored a program that will get more veterans employed which will make the transition from military life to the civilian world a little easier.

The article talked about “the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced today that its waiver program that helps experienced veterans and active duty personnel transition into civilian jobs as commercial truck and bus drivers has been expanded to all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  On June 27, 2014, Alaska became the 50th state to participate in the FMCSA Military Skills Test Waiver Program.  Begun in 2011, the Program grants state licensing agencies, including the District of Columbia, the authority to waive the skills test portion of the commercial driver’s license application for active duty or recently separated veterans who possess at least two years of safe driving experience operating a military truck or bus. Waiving the skills test expedites the civilian commercial drivers licensing application process and reduces expenses for qualified individuals and operating costs to state licensing agencies.” 

I lost most of that joyous feeling only after reading the latter part of this paragraph did the question of “what about us” entered my mind.  The part states that it is “for active duty or recently separated veterans” but what about those veterans who have been searching for employment much longer or are slowly approaching their golden years.  We are veterans and to point a fact, our service made way for theirs but again those prior veterans are being overlooked again.  These are the same veterans who have been suffering from medical issues and a broken VA system for decades now.  What about us, will we ever be given the same kind of respect that those after World War Two got but lost and those from Iraq and Afghanistan are getting now?


I did regain a little bit of that joy back when I read another paragraph in this same article which stated “From 2010 to 2020, the need for heavy-vehicle drivers is expected to grow by more than 17 percent – faster than the national average for other occupations.”  It made me feel better to know that even if my class of veterans is left out, at least those who come after us will be looked after better than we were and that in itself is a good thing even if it is still a sad thing. 

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