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Mid South TTF's MVP Instructor Esther Freeman

Military Vets get the MVP Treatment in Becoming Union Carpenters & Millwrights

Training is underway to equip nine of our nation’s heroes with the skills they need to excel as construction professionals following their departure from the military.


The UBC’s award-winning Military Veterans Program is being taught at a training center in Clarksville, Tennessee for soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with the Mid-South Carpenters Training Trust Fund (MSCTTF) presenting the program. 


The Military Veterans Program (MVP) is designed for soldiers transitioning out of the U.S. Army. About 6,700 men and women transition out of Fort Campbell every year. Program participants take part in a free, eight-week training program, which gives military vets the basic skill set of a first-year apprentice with hands-on projects for real-world experience as carpenters or millwrights. Once civilians, these veterans will join a UBC Local Union as a second-year apprentice and get to work!


Participants complete common-core training such as OSHA 10 and first aid during the first half of the program. They then break into millwright or carpenter training groups for the remaining four weeks. Of this first class in Tennessee, three will train to become carpenters and six will join the millwright trade.

The Fort Campbell program is being led by MSCTTF Instructor Esther Freeman, who is a member of Southern States Millwrights Local 1554. She will teach both millwrights and carpenters during the first four weeks of the program, and then lead millwright training during the latter four weeks. She became a journey-level millwright in 2020, but had field experience and was a welding instructor before she began her millwright apprenticeship.


“It is an immense privilege to work with vets, the people who have served our country,” said Ms. Freeman. “They have the discipline and diligence to see things through. I have a lot of respect for them.”

This first Fort Campbell MVP class started on April 12 and will complete June 9th, 2022.


The UBC Military Veterans Program was recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a 2021 HIRE Vets Medallion Award recipient for commitment to recruiting, employing, and retaining veterans. The HIRE Vets Medallion Program is the only federal veterans’ employment program that recognizes commitment to veteran hiring, retention, and professional development. 


Learn more about the UBC MVP program at https://ubcmvp.org/

Mid-South TTF's MVP Training Center in Clarksville, TN