Member-only story
The Intersection Between Ex-Military and Truckers
Many overlapping skill sets make it a natural fit
This is the first in a series of spotlighting the lives of truckers. Everyone on the road has a story, and I am here to tell them.
I spoke to AJ while on his way to Tennessee to deliver a tractor-trailer full of toys to Wendy’s.
(Bet you never thought about where that toy came from when you picked up a Kid’s Meal or how the ingredients for the burger you’re about to bite into magically arrived.)
AJ was adopted at nine months old after being removed from his family by the state. We commiserated over the “what would life be like if this never happened” scenarios we encounter in our lifetimes, depending on the path we take. It scares him to think he may not have grown into the person he is today if that never happened.
He was first exposed to semi-trucks as a child by a family member who took him on local rides, and instantly, he knew what he would be when he grew up. But before he became a trucker, as a teen watching Desert Storm coverage, he sensed, without a doubt, the military was his first calling.
(Spoiler alert: he achieves all of this.)
In between active duty and the reserves, AJ earned his Commercial Drivers License…
