Mr. Bob Gruber is Jetco’s Heavy Haul Operations Manager and an US Army veteran. A proud Texas native, he was born in Dallas, January 19, 1967. When he decided to join Jetco in 2011, he brought his years of trucking know how with him. To top it off, his military experience brought a level of leadership and discipline that’s difficult to find no matter where you look. I asked him the following:
Bob, what made you decide to join the military and why did you choose the Army?
I joined the military to get out and see the world and to be a part of something bigger than just the normal day to day. Originally, I was set to go to Texas Tech in the engineering program but felt like I needed to do something more. After speaking to several recruiters, the Army just seemed to fit what I was looking for, so on October 21, 1985 I joined the US Army as an Airborne Ranger.
What was your highest accomplishment during your time in the military?
My highest accomplishment was making a difference not only in my life, but in others as well. I was one of the fortunate ones to lead soldiers into battle during Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and brought each one home. I was on a fast track career from the beginning. As an Honor Graduate out of basic, Accomplished Master Jumper master, Ranger tab, Combat infantry badge, Expert infantry badge, Centurion jumper for over 100 static line jumps, inducted into the order of Saint Maurice and rounded out my career as an E-7 promotable at 12 years in service.
What do you enjoy most about working at Jetco?
The people and being able to work in a safe environment with a culture focused on the safety and well-being of its employees.
How do you like to enjoy your time off?
With family and friends just hanging out doing things that make me and people I’m around happy. The older I get the more I understand how fast we go through life and the importance of getting out and enjoying as much of it as you can.
Do you have any advice to give the drivers who work here that want to learn more about OOG loads?
My advice is for them is to talk to their Driver Manager and the OOG drivers that we have. Our OOG drivers are an outstanding group of people and they’re always willing to help anyone that has an interest of growing their abilities for hauling OOG commodities.
After all these years of being a part of the Jetco team, what do you consider the strongest parts of our culture? Safety and our team, plain and simple!
When it comes to down to getting the job done, Bob will take on any challenge. He’s always trying to outdo himself from one project to the next and his team has responded by doing the same. Bob, thanks for your leadership and sound judgment; you have continually paved new roads for the team. In turn this has allowed each and every one of us to Drive 2 Perfection!