BF/GF team heading to millington, TN 2/2/15

Because we had no contact with the bus company, swift has certain policies for when you have to be at the academy, the two choices that our recruiter had for bussing were one that brought us in the same day ( tomorrow) or one that layer us over until sunday. She was not authorised to bring us in early per the academy...which is fine. I can roll with the flow, as I said before. It is at the very most a minor inconvenience that we are more than capable of dealing with.

As far as your preplan question, I will do what I am paid to do, which is drive the truck. I rode on a flatbed strapping and tarping with a family member who is an owner operator for the better part of this year. I am no stranger to hard work and have no fantastical notions of the trucking industry, or what is expected of me.
I'm not looking for a pissing contest either, simply a fair shake from older drivers. I edited my original reply because I was in a bad headspace to respond and should not have when I did. For that I apologize

 

You're correct. I may end up late, I will have to learn policy and how to navigate it effectively. I meant "I will drive the truck" more as a euphemism for "I will get it done without whining" in regards to the many drivers that I have heard complain constantly whenever something doesn't go their way. I look forward to the great deal that I will learn in the future in trucking.

 

Ok, so first day update:

I'm not going to mention much about the hotel and accommodations thus far since it won't likely apply to you. Millington is currently in the process of moving everything to the memphis terminal and operating out of there. Therefore anyone reading this and going to millington later, may very well be going to memphis.

First day is paperwork. (Yo dog I heard you like paperwork...lol) anyways...it's all necessary and you need to be prepared.
We had done research and had a fantastic recruiter, some didn't and/or had a recruiter that wasn't as helpful I can't say for sure.

I will say this...for the love of christ, pull out your permit right now newbie, if you're reading this...look at the restrictions...does it say k?

If it says "k" DO NOT come to class before getting it fixed! K restriction is a "intrastate" restriction meaning you cannot drive anywhere but your state of domicile!

We lost at least 2 people from different states for this yesterday.

Things to make sure you have!!:

- dot med card AND long form.
- social security card
- permit that does not expire within 30 days.
- birth certificate, we haven't been asked for ours but bring it anyway. Better to be safe than go home!

I'm also going to touch on something that hit us close to home (no pun intended).

If you are from georgia, you are not supposed to come to millington, tn as of 1/1/15.
(We found out Wisconsin as well from another guy that got sent home) if your recruiter is sending you to millington from either of these states...you WILL be sent home. You are supposed to go to SLC, utah.

Our recruiter had prior approval from the director specifically for us, and we still almost got sent home
Due to some miscommunication.
However our recruiter Cindy was so on top of it, she called us before the Instructor Tony had even called us to discuss it.
She had our backs and got everything straightened out.
We both can't say enough about what a great recruiter Cindy Dunn has been for us.

Ok, with that said, first day is paperwork. Drug test and compliance mostly, it will be long and there will be alot of waiting because the entire class has to go through the processing. Be patient, our instructor Tony kept it light. He loves cracking jokes but is serious when he needs to be.

He will answer any and all questions you have, and has been in the industry for a very long time.
We have had a very positive experience thus far despite some hurdles to get over!

 

At memphis, which is the only terminal I can speak about. The drug test is on site. The physical is 40 dollars if you don't have a med card with at least a year left on it. Or if your card isn't from a national registry member facility. We had cards so we didn't have to test for physicals or sleep apnea. I would say get it done by your doctor if you think you're borderline sleep apnea. Swift doesn't test if you have an approved med card IN ACADEMY. I cannot speak for company orientation...as I'm not to that point yet.

My paperwork list is complete per the instructors and my recruiter and was complete for us