New Vehicle Expands Work Opportunities for Army Veteran
From age 10, Trey Spellman felt inspired by his father’s stories of service as an Army combat medic. He knew he, too, would serve.
Trey enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school in 1997 and served 16 years of combined active and Reserve duty. He earned the rank of staff sergeant and worked in jobs including infantryman, mechanic, and petroleum supply.
His service included a yearlong tour of duty in Korea, and he was awarded three Army commendation medals.
After 16 years of service, Trey felt the physical wear of intense training. Torn muscles in his chest and back healed slowly, even after immobilizing his arm in a sling for months. He decided to focus on a post-military career and received an honorable discharge in 2013.
Since separating from the military, Trey earned a master’s degree in psychology and took a break to spend time with his father, who was in the final stages of cancer. Now his sights are on doctoral programs in alternative medicine and being the best possible father to daughter Josephine, who turned 1 in July.
However, Trey has faced challenges in civilian life. Finding steady employment has proved difficult, and that has caused financial hardship.
Before Josephine was born, he gave up his vehicle so he could pay an apartment deposit and rent. Earlier this year, he began working part time as a home health aide serving clients who were also veterans. Not having a vehicle cut into Trey’s earnings. He limited the number of clients he saw to allow time to walk part of the distance to their homes — often many miles from his home in Denton, Texas — and he would then catch a ride share the rest of the way.
“All my clients lived a long distance,” he said. “I would leave three hours before the shift so I could walk half the distance and Uber the rest.”
He repeated the process at the end of his shift, putting his infantry training into action.
“I have had a chance to — as we call it in the Army — ruck in just about every element,” he said. “In the infantry, you learn techniques to pad your shoes. I had to utilize every trick I could think of.”
“This is life changing. …It feels really good to get up in the morning and feel like things are back on track.” – Trey Spellman, Army veteran
Recently, Trey got a job working closer to home as a security guard. With a shorter commute, he works more hours, but ride shares are still impacting his income.
Trey was grateful to receive a 2021 Jeep Cherokee through Operation Homefront and U.S. Bank’s Driven to Serve program. It is the 31st vehicle U.S. Bank has provided to military families in need through the partnership.
“This is life changing,” he said. “Being able to work and being able to go to school and having a way to pick up my little girl means the world to me. It feels really good to get up in the morning and feel like things are back on track.”
After Trey received his vehicle, his first trip was to work, where enjoyed the experience of searching for a parking spot. He’s eager for hassle-free runs to the store and more daddy-daughter trips to parks and playgrounds.
“This is a true blessing,” he said.
