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U.S. Air Force course receives first PTDI certification for military driver training

ALEXANDRIA, Va.  —  A U.S. Air Force Tractor Trailer Training course has received certification by the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI), the first military training program to earn the designation, according to a press release from PTDI.

The training program is located at Dobbins Air Reserve Base near Atlanta.

The PTDI certification helps to ensure that the military training meets the same standards for quality and content as PTDI-certified civilian CDL schools. Some carriers have been reluctant to accept military training and experience when reviewing applicant qualifications of veterans.

“The Air Force has taken the defense department’s motto of ‘Complete your service on Friday and begin your civilian life on Monday’ to heart,” said PTDI board Chairman Dave Money. “By designing their program around the standards set by PTDI, they have more than adequately prepared their service members.”

The process started when Chief Master Sgt. Trevor Shattuck, Career Field Manager at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, attended a civilian driver-training program. Perceiving the need for more extensive training to ensure that Air Force personnel would be at an equivalent skill level with non-military drivers, Shattuck was the inspiration behind the unit’s “3T” course.

“It’s important that when we put our Airmen outside the base on the streets with civilians, they are safe operators,” said Shattuck. “The people driving on the surface streets with our Airmen need to feel confident that the guy driving that truck knows what he’s doing.”

In addition to training Air Force personnel to the same standards as their civilian counterparts, another goal of the program is to help prepare veterans who are about to reenter the civilian workforce.

The course includes more than 60 hours of behind-the-wheel training, including operation in metro-Atlanta traffic. Students must pass a performance exam designed to be the equivalent of the CDL test taken to receive a Georgia CDL.

“Making the driving skills of transitioning service personnel more readily marketable helps address two critical issues, veteran unemployment and the trucking industry’s continuing driver shortage,” said PTDI and Truckload Carriers Association President Brad Bentley. “We applaud the Air Force’s efforts to gain certification for the 3T course at Dobbins, and we look forward to their program serving as the basis for similar programs across all branches of the military.”

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