Fort Novosel sits in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama. It is the Army's home of aviation. Every year it trains and separates a steady stream of aviation talent. Helicopter mechanics. Air traffic controllers. Drone operators. Aviation operations crews. These are people who kept aircraft flying and safe under real pressure.

One quick note on the name. This base is the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. The Army called it Fort Novosel from 2023 to 2025. Then it renamed the post back to Fort Rucker in June 2025. Many veterans and locals still say Fort Novosel. Both names point to the same place near Dothan and Enterprise.

If you run a midsize company in the Wiregrass, this pool is worth knowing. Aviation shops, airports, manufacturers, logistics firms, and defense contractors all need what these veterans bring. This guide shows you who they are, where to find them, and how to hire them without getting tripped up by military job titles.

What kind of veterans separate from Fort Novosel?

Fort Novosel is the Army's main flight training post. That focus shapes the talent that leaves. Most of these veterans spent their service around aircraft. They fixed them, tracked them, launched them, and guided them home.

Here is who you are most likely to meet in the Wiregrass hiring pool.

These are not entry-level workers. Many held real weight young. A 24-year-old maintenance sergeant may have signed off on aircraft worth tens of millions. The Army trains these mechanics to strict standards. They read technical manuals. They log every step. They work a set maintenance schedule.

The job codes tell the story. A 15T UH-60 Black Hawk repairer and a 15R AH-64 Apache repairer both run scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on complex machines. A 15P aviation operations specialist tracks flight plans, crew status, and records all day. Those are civilian skills wearing a military label.

Where is Fort Novosel and who can you hire?

Fort Novosel is in the heart of the Wiregrass. The post has gates in three towns: Daleville, Ozark, and Enterprise. Dothan is the largest city nearby, about a 30-minute drive south. So your local pool covers Dothan, Enterprise, Ozark, Daleville, and the wider Wiregrass.

Do not forget military spouses. Aviation families move here for years at a time. Many spouses have strong work histories and want steady local jobs. They are part of the same pool.

You can hire this talent two ways.

If your company sits elsewhere in the Southeast, you can still recruit here. Atlanta, Birmingham, Panama City, and Pensacola are all in driving reach. A steady base like Fort Novosel is a source, not just a neighbor.

One more thing about this region. Because the base has trained aviators here for decades, the whole area is built around aircraft. Local shops, suppliers, and contractors already speak the language. That means veterans who settle here often want to stay in aviation-adjacent work. A clear, well-paid role from a local employer is an easy yes for many of them.

Why do aviation veterans fit civilian roles?

The obvious fit is aviation. Aircraft MRO shops, airports, and airlines all need certified mechanics and ground crew. But the fit runs wider than that. Manufacturers want people who follow strict process. Logistics firms want people who run schedules and parts. Defense contractors near the base hire this talent every week.

Demand for aircraft mechanics alone is strong and steady.

The skill is real. The problem is the paperwork. A veteran's resume often reads like an Army evaluation, not a job application. You have to look past the labels to see the fit.

For a full map of aviation roles and how they line up with civilian jobs, see our guide on hiring veterans for aviation and aerospace roles. It pairs well with a base-region pool like this one.

Do these veterans hold certifications you can use?

Certifications are where aviation veterans give you a real edge. Their military training often maps to civilian credentials. That saves you time and training cost on day one.

The big one for maintenance is the FAA airframe and powerplant certificate. Mechanics call it the A&P. Civilian aircraft mechanics need it to sign off work. Many veterans with military maintenance experience can qualify to test for it based on that service. So ask every maintenance candidate where they stand. Some already hold the A&P. Others are one step away from it.

Controllers and drone operators have their own credentials too. A veteran controller has hundreds of hours of live traffic experience that towers and dispatch centers value. A drone operator may already hold, or be ready to earn, an FAA remote pilot certificate. Do not assume you have to train from zero. Ask what each person already carries. You will often be surprised.

How do you find these veterans near Dothan?

You do not have to camp outside the gate. There are better ways to reach this pool.

Start with a pipeline that already holds these veterans. That is what BMR is built for. We add more than 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and veterans have built over 60,000 resumes on the platform. Many of them list aviation, maintenance, and logistics fields. When you post a role through BMR's hire page, you reach that fresh, growing supply directly.

Then work the local channels around the base.

One more tip. Aviation veterans have seen jobs oversold before. Give them a clear, honest picture of the role up front. A realistic job preview cuts early turnover and builds trust fast.

The Department of Labor also keeps a simple employer guide for hiring veterans. It is a good starting checklist if this is new for your team.

What about air traffic controllers and drone operators?

Two job codes at Fort Novosel deserve their own note. They fill roles most employers never think to source from the military. Both are hard to hire for on the open market. Both come out of this base in real numbers. If either fits your needs, the Wiregrass is one of the best places in the country to look.

Air traffic controllers come out of the 15Q air traffic control operator field. These veterans stayed calm while managing many aircraft at once. They fit airport operations, contract towers, dispatch, and any live operations center. The FAA hires controllers too, and it has strict age rules for that path. Private and contract roles are more open, so do not assume a great controller is off the table.

Drone talent comes from the 15W unmanned aircraft systems operator field. These veterans flew and maintained drones on real missions. Utilities, survey firms, farms, and security companies all use drones now. For a wider view, see our guide on hiring veterans for drone and UAS operations.

How should you read an aviation veteran's resume?

Here is where a lot of good candidates get lost. Their resume is full of codes and acronyms. An applicant tracking system reads it, finds few civilian keywords, and ranks it low. The resume does not get rejected. It just sinks to the bottom of the stack where no one looks.

Read for the work, not the wording. A phrase like "cleared aircraft for FMC status" means the person signed off machines as ready to fly. That is quality control. That is accountability. Do not screen someone out because they wrote it in Army language.

It also helps to speak their language on the other side of the table. Veterans often undervalue civilian pay and benefits because they do not know how the pieces compare. Our guide on explaining civilian benefits to a veteran candidate walks through how to frame your offer clearly.

What do employers get wrong hiring near a base?

A base next door is an advantage. But a few common mistakes waste it. Here is what to watch for.

These same lessons apply at any large post. Our guides on hiring near Fort Leavenworth and Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia follow the same base-region playbook.

How do you start hiring aviation veterans near Fort Novosel?

Fort Novosel is one of the richest aviation talent sources in the country. Helicopter mechanics, air traffic controllers, drone operators, and ops crews leave that base every month. Most of them want steady civilian work. Many are open to staying in the Wiregrass or moving for the right role.

You do not need a big veteran-hiring program to reach them. Midsize companies win this talent all the time. You just need a pipeline and a plan. BMR gives you the pipeline. We add more than 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and veterans have built over 60,000 resumes on the platform. That is a fresh, growing pool of translated, ready-to-read talent.

Ready to reach aviation veterans near Dothan? Post your roles on BMR's hire page and connect with the pool directly.