Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Alyson Pelletier | Maine Army National Guard servicemembers lined up March 1, 2025, in Bangor Maine to...... read more read more
Members of the Maine Army and Air National Guard lined up at the Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) in Bangor, Maine to receive their commercial driver’s license (CDL) 1 March 2025. The Maine National Guard (MENG) and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles partnered to make a one-stop place for service members to submit their waiver and payment for their CDL during drill weekend.
Don Pelletier, Driver License Examiner District Supervisor for the northern region, who administered the test said, “We had about 20 members come in for an even-exchange and three had the driving experience but still needed to take a written exam.”
All three passed and received their CDL.
One of the benefits of military occupational specialty (MOS) training is some of the skills are transferrable to the civilian sector. Some skills such as time management, teamwork, leadership, college credits etc. are not tangible, while others, like drivers training, can turn into a very real CDL.
However, the process from military training, to getting a CDL isn’t well known.
Col. Nathan Arnold, State Army Aviation Officer (SAAO) and Army Aviation Support Facility Commander recalled a conversation he had with the State Command Sergeant Major, Alexander Clifford about the program and lack of awareness, “He passed on Chris Ireland, Director of Driver License Services, information, and we hatched plan for an event. It took about three weeks to lock everything into place.”
For servicemembers who are trained as a motor transport operator (88M), petroleum supply specialist (92F), or PATRIOT launching station operator/maintainer (14T), “The performance and written tests are waived because your commander is certifying the military has already completed the required testing. These folk will just need to pay for the license application, and they will receive a Class A/B license,” said Arnold.
Pelletier explained the process to get a CDL if someone didn’t have the applicable military experience.
“Anyone from the public would have to take the written test, and they also have to enroll in driving school, entry level driver training (ELDT) which is 160 hours,” Pelletier said, “There’s a lot to learn to drive safely. You may be in charge of a one-hundred-thousand-pound vehicle. It takes a lot to stop and maneuver that big of a vehicle.”
Pelletier explained, one of the things the military members bring to the CDL force is experience with equivalent equipment needed for a CDL.
“Every time a servicemember moves a vehicle it’s experience,” said Pelletier, “When I came in, I saw people moving trucks around the base, and a while ago I saw a line of military vehicles being driven down the interstate, all of which a civilian would need to be licensed to drive.”
This event generated twenty-three more CDL drivers in the state of Maine opening additional career opportunities for each individual.
Pelletier said they hope to have another event like this in the future.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.19.2025 09:41 |
| Story ID: | 493197 |
| Location: | BANGOR, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Driven to Drive, by SFC Alyson Pelletier, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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