������ý

NFI provides a variety of resources to veterans, including a QR code linking to services available through NFI and veterans groups. (NFI)

[Stay on top of transportation news: .]

PHOENIX — Many trucking companies actively recruit members of the armed services transitioning to civilian life, but attracting, supporting and retaining military veterans can take extra work.

“There is not a company out here that doesn’t want to hire veterans,” said David Pike, director of recruiting at NFI. “The problem is that it takes time and effort.”

To make it easier on trucking companies, Truckload Carriers Association is rolling out a new program to give managers tools and resources that can drive long-term success.

TCA’s goal is to bring together carriers with experience hiring veterans to share what they have learned and pool resources to create a road map for others.

“We’ve already done that homework,” Pike said. “Collectively, we can come together to share best practices on how to attract and support veterans.”

TCA President Jim Ward said focusing on veterans isn’t new for the association.

“Years ago, we had a program that was very involved in figuring out how to get veterans into the truckload industry. We’re giving it a new look,” he said, adding that trucking is a patriotic industry that regularly supports events and programs such as Wreaths Across America and The Wall That Heals.

Image

NFI’s support for Wreaths Across America grew out of its veteran employee resource group. (NFI)

As part of the project’s first phase, TCA is creating a checklist and website to help carriers determine if they’re prepared to hire veterans and offer resources.

“The question is: Are we vet-ready or are we vet-friendly? Being vet-ready is an extensive deep dive on what you offer the veteran and how you can support them in the long term,” said Tracy Rushing, executive director of safety and recruiting at R.E. Garrison Trucking.

Rushing and Pike shared information on the program during a meeting of TCA’s Recruitment and Retention Human Re­sources Committee at the association’s 2025 annual conference, held March 15-18.

“Just saying, ‘We hire veterans,’ and not having exposed yourself to what that really means and what that driver needs in stark contrast to what other drivers need is not enough,” said Rushing, who chairs the committee.

Veterans may need extra support as they transition to civilian life or due to trauma they ­experienced.

“You can be good at managing people, but managing a veteran is a little different,” Pike said.

He told attendees there are simple things employers can do to support veterans.

“Even understanding what to say and not to say to a veteran is helpful,” he said.

Pioneer Production Transport, a Madison, Tenn.-based provider of transportation services for the live entertainment industry, has a command-and-control structure for moving shows in and out of facilities.

“It lends itself in an immediate way to how a veteran thinks,” said Chip Waterfield, general manager at Pioneer Production ­Transport.

Waterfield connected with Pike after the committee meeting. He recently hired a veteran but acknowledged that, as a small carrier, he doesn’t have as many resources as he would like.

“I don’t have the support for this guy to give him what he needs to be a valuable employee,” he said.

Pike told Waterfield he isn’t alone.

“That’s the type of knowledge we have to share,” he said. “I can share information with Chip very easily.”

Fortunately, several free resources are available to support veterans, including local veteran service organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs, public-­private partnerships, and other agencies and groups. Most counties have veterans services offices.

“These are the people designed to help veterans navigate all their benefits,” Pike said.

Fleets can tap into those resources to ensure that management and drivers know what is available. “That’s why we want to build a checklist — to say, ‘This is what you start with,’ ” Pike said.

Employee resource groups also can support veterans.

The veterans ERG at trucking and logistics provider NFI meets monthly, said Kaitlyn Quin, the company’s recruitment marketing manager.

NFI’s support for Wreaths Across America originated within the ERG.

“There are different groups that support it, but it was definitely the vet ERG to bring it together,” Quin said. “As transportation groups, we were really passionate.”

Veterans aren’t always aware of the benefits and resources available to them as part of their service. Pike, who is also a veteran, experienced this firsthand during a medical appointment when he learned he had more military health insurance benefits than he realized. Employers can pull together information into a single source, which is something NFI has already done.

“We really revamped the accessibility, especially for our drivers, so they know their resources — what’s available through the VA but also within NFI,” said Jen Cook, driver recruitment program manager at NFI. “What­ever is troubling them, they can go and find a resource.”

Drivers aren’t sitting behind a desk, and Pike learned that most never visited the company’s benefits page. NFI created a QR code to make it easy for veterans to access resources when they need them.

NFI, which is based in Camden, N.J., and ranks No. 16 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, has the resources to employ staff dedicated to supporting veterans.

Pike acknowledged that not all carriers have those resources, so sharing information within the industry is beneficial.

“We can build that infrastructure with manpower, but there’s nothing we’re doing that is proprietary or that is secret,” Pike said.

After rolling out a checklist and website, TCA plans to introduce education to support carriers in their efforts to attract and retain veterans.

“We see this as an evolution that is going to take years to build out completely,” Pike said. “We want to show veterans that this is a destination. It isn’t a default career.”