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U.S. Xpress officials announced at a ceremony Friday morning that six current drivers with exemplary military and driving records would be handed the keys to new, military-themed Freightliner tractors. The trucks will be in daily use and criss-crossing the country carrying loads for the Chattanooga-based company. The drivers are as follows:› Army truck — Lincoln Brown› Marines truck — Tyrone McCloud› Navy truck — Peter Ingram› Air Force truck — John Omaster› Coast Guard truck — Donald and Rebekah Davis› Independence tribute truck — Tom and Weazy Sullivan
Coming soon to an Interstate lane near you, the big wheels and star-spangled bodies of six state-of-the-art U.S. Xpress tractors, specially-prepared with scenes depicting and honoring the military men and women who make us America's armed services.
U.S. Xpress unveiled the trucks Friday morning, as company officials announced a new program aimed at recruiting more military veterans to join the U.S. Xpress ranks as employees.
There is a truck for each branch of the armed services, plus an "Independence" truck featuring all branches. Each truck is driven by a U.S. Xpress driver with an exemplary combined military and driving record.
Eric Fuller, president and chief operating officer at U.S. Xpress, said Friday the initiative is a sensible and simple solution for both U.S. Xpress (as well as the trucking industry as a whole) and American military veterans.
Military veterans bring high-quality experience, training and discipline to the table, he said, all traits valuable for the movement of freight over long distances, in sometimes grueling conditions, requiring occasionally long stints away from home and family - conditions familiar to many military vets.
"To me, it's a no-brainer," said Fuller.
U.S. Xpress' employee pool is already made up of about roughly 10 percent military veterans, but "we would like to see it closer to 20 percent," he said.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, who has launched his own programs to combat veteran homelessness in the city, applauded the new U.S. Xpress program.
He said the company "is not only recognizing our veterans and their selfless service but making a real investment in their futures."
Currently, the national unemployment rate for post-Sept. 11, 2001, active duty veterans is about 5.8 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
That number is higher than the 4.7 percent national unemployment rate for civilians.
"And it baffles me that these people are having a hard time finding jobs coming out of the military," said Fuller.
But assimilating back into civilian life can be difficult for veterans, especially those having served during the last 15 years in U.S. conflicts overseas.
Lincoln Brown, an Army veteran and driver of the Army-themed U.S. Xpress tractor, said Friday he had no interest in coming home and pushing a pencil or staring at a computer screen for a living.
"I can't be closed in, in an office setting," he said. "I can't do that."
Brown has been a U.S. Xpress driver and trainer for more than three years, after serving in the Army from 1984 to 2012. When looking for work right out of the Army, Brown knew he didn't want to wear a uniform and he didn't want to be micro-managed.
And "this gives me the freedom to be out," he said of driving a truck. "Every day is different. That keeps it exciting."
Plus, "I don't have to scream at anybody anymore," he said. "Well - I still do that."
Brown left Chattanooga Friday evening and headed to Jackson, Tenn., and then on to Laredo, Texas.
Tom and Weazy Sullivan, meanwhile, laughed at the irony of their next trip. They team drive the Independence truck, and rolled through Washington, D.C., early this morning on their way to New Jersey.
Tom is a Navy veteran, who enlisted at 33 and served during the first Gulf War.
"I was one of the oldest guys in boot camp," he jokes.
Following his Naval service, Tom teamed up with his wife, Weazy, and the two went into real estate. They were building a subdivision when the housing market collapsed in 2008.
"She said, 'You've got to get online and get a job somehow, someway,'" Tom recalled Friday.
The only job postings the Savannah, Ga., natives found at the time were for truck drivers. So the Sullivans became truck drivers.
The plan was to drive and get through the hard recession years. But they got addicted.
"If we had known we could make this kind of money, we would have quit real estate earlier," said Weazy.
The two now say they'll drive 15 or 16 years.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.