What a great experience we had in Fort Bragg, NC last week, where we facilitated a military driver to civilian CDL Prep Course for the North Carolina Army National Guard (NCARNG). Thanks to the 139th National Guard Academy, for allowing us to use their facility to give the training!
This three day course was led by our very own Carl Jackson, and was designed to help prepare NCARNG Soldiers pass the written Class A CDL Test. Passing this test is important to military drivers, because it means they can use the Military Skills Waiver to transfer their military skills to a civilian CDL (an otherwise lengthy process).
So what did the class consist of? The first day of class welcomed five participants to classroom study. We read aloud, discussed our reading, and worked in groups to make sure everyone knew the key points. Then we went on range to get some hands on practice before closing out the day with some homework (sorry, but it’s good for you)!
Our second day followed the same basic structure, with classroom time (including a quiz), and hands on basic testing in one of our Barber trucks. We also went over the homework, which everyone had completed. Since safety is a big focus of ours, we even practiced three points of contact for getting in and out of the trucks. The day again ended in homework (trust us it’s good for the memory)!
The final day of class had a homework discussion, and a pass or fail written test in preparation for the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV’s) written exam. We’re happy to say everyone passed, and we were able to move on to the fun stuff, truck maneuvering practice.
Now that the training has ended, we’re happy to report that two of our class attendees have already passed all section requirements!
This training gave us a great opportunity to help soldiers who are unemployed/underemployed transfer the skill they learned in the military to their civilian life.
We’re even lucky enough to be welcoming a few of them to Team Barber Trucking, although whether class grads decide to drive with us or not, we’re just glad we got a chance to give back to those who give so much.
