How to Hire Veterans for Physical Therapy and Rehab Clinics

Your rehab tech req has been open for six weeks. The PT aide you hired in spring left for a hospital job. Your therapists are setting up their own hot packs and wiping their own tables. Every minute they spend on that is a minute they cannot bill.

Meanwhile, the military trains its own physical therapy techs. The Army calls the job 68F. The Air Force calls it Physical Medicine. These people have worked a rehab clinic floor under a licensed physical therapist. Every year some of them leave the service, and some look for exactly the job you cannot fill.

This guide is for owners, clinic directors, and hiring leads at outpatient PT, sports rehab, and orthopedic clinics. It covers what the military role does and which jobs it fills on day one. It shows which jobs need a license first. It also covers how to read the resume and where to find these candidates. Hiring for hospital or EMS roles? Start with our guide on hiring combat medics and corpsmen in healthcare. This one stays inside the rehab clinic. For another therapy role, see hiring veterans for respiratory therapy.

What does a military physical therapy tech actually do?

Each branch has its own code and title for the job. Know them, because they are what you will see at the top of the resume.

• Army: 68F, Physical Therapy Specialist.
• Air Force: 4J0X2, Physical Medicine. The Air Force job page lists the duties. Techs help therapists with patient tests and make splints. They also record how patients respond to treatment.
• Navy: Hospital Corpsman. The Navy trains some corpsmen as physical therapy techs. Look for NEC L20A on the resume.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force train these techs at one joint school. It's the Medical Education and Training Campus at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Air Force page lists 81 days of technical training there. After school, they work in military clinics and hospitals under a licensed physical therapist.

The daily work looks a lot like a busy outpatient clinic. The tech preps patients, runs modalities the therapist ordered, and coaches patients through exercise plans. They track progress and write it down. The therapist owns the plan of care. The tech carries it out and reports back.

The patient mix is what makes this background useful to you. A military rehab clinic sees many of your cases. Think knees, backs, shoulders, ankles, and rehab after surgery. Many patients are young and want to get back to work fast. Some techs also worked in a hospital setting with inpatients.

Want the Army side in more depth? See our 68F Physical Therapy Specialist civilian career guide. The Air Force version is in the 4J0X2 Physical Medicine career guide.

Which clinic jobs can they fill on day one?

Start with the jobs that do not need a state license. That's where a new hire can start work the week they arrive.

PT aide or rehab tech

This is the cleanest fit. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says aides often do tasks that are only indirectly tied to patient care. They set up treatment areas, help patients move, and handle clerical work. BLS says aides usually need a high school diploma and on-the-job training. The median aide wage was $35,240 in May 2025. A military PT tech has done this work under a licensed physical therapist.

One thing to check before you post the job. Each state sets its own rules for what an unlicensed aide may do. Some states limit what an aide may touch, or how close the PT must be. Read your state board's rules before you write the duties. A strong tech who is told to do less than they are used to may get bored. A tech who is told to do more than state law allows puts your license at risk.

Front desk, scheduling, and intake

Do not overlook the front of the clinic. Some techs also booked patients, chased no-shows, and kept charts in order. Ask about it in the phone screen. A tech who has done that work has less to learn at your front desk. For billing and records seats, see our guide to hiring veterans for medical coding and revenue cycle.

This is also a good seat for someone on the path to a physical therapist assistant (PTA) license. They learn your systems and your patients while they finish school.

What about medics and corpsmen?

Army 68W combat medics and Navy hospital corpsmen also apply to clinic jobs. Their training covers broad patient care, not rehab in depth. A corpsman who also trained as a PT tech should say so on the resume. Read for it. A medic with strong patient care hours can fit a rehab aide or intake seat. Weigh them on what they did, not the code. See the Hospital Corpsman career guide for the Navy side.

What does it take to become a licensed PTA?

This is where hiring managers get it wrong in both directions. Some assume a military tech is already a PTA. Others assume the military training does not count for much. Neither is right.

BLS says a new PTA typically needs an associate degree from an accredited program. The median PTA wage was $68,380 in May 2025. That's a real step up from aide pay. APTA says PTAs are licensed or certified in all 50 states and DC. It also says a PTA must graduate from an accredited program and pass the National Physical Therapy Examination.

Military training does not replace those steps. A tech still needs the degree, the exam, and the state license. Some PTA programs may give credit for military training. That's the school's call, so ask the program directly. Do not promise a candidate credit you have not confirmed.

So hire for the path. Hire the tech now as an aide. Then help them through PTA school on a schedule that works for the clinic. Some clinics give paid study time or cover the exam fee. A tech who earns the license on your watch has a reason to stay. Put that support in writing in the offer.

Check the GI Bill question too. The GI Bill can help pay for approved school programs. The candidate should ask the school and the VA what their benefit covers. You do not need to know the details. You only need to make the class schedule work.

How do you read a physical therapy tech's resume?

A good military resume will already be in civilian terms. Many are not. Look for these things under the jargon.

Patient volume

Look for a number. "Treated 25 patients a day" tells you they can keep up with a full schedule. If there is no number, ask for one in the phone screen.

Modalities and treatments

Look for the names you use. Those are ultrasound, electrical stimulation, hot and cold packs, traction, therapeutic exercise, gait training. These are the same tools in the same hands. A list of them tells you what you will not need to teach.

Who they worked under

The resume should name a supervising physical therapist or a clinic chief. That tells you the tech worked inside a plan of care. It also tells you they are used to taking direction and reporting back.

Documentation

Military clinics use electronic health records. Look for lines about charting, progress notes, or tracking range of motion. Your system will be new to them. The habit of writing it down every visit will not be.

Clinic type and size

A tech from a small clinic may have done everything from intake to cleanup. A tech from a large hospital may know inpatient work better. Both are useful. Match the setting to your clinic.

Watch for one trap. The job title may read like a rank. The dates may jump between bases every two or three years. That's normal military life, not job hopping. Our guide on why a veteran resume shows a new job every two years explains it. For the job code itself, see how to read a military job title on a resume.

Where do you find military PT techs?

Do not count on a general job board alone. Go where separating members look for work.

Base transition offices and hiring fairs

Every service runs a transition program for members leaving the military. Under 10 U.S.C. 1142, members get preseparation counseling before they leave. Many bases with a medical center also host hiring fairs. Call the transition office at the nearest base with a hospital or large clinic. Ask when the next fair is and how to post a job for their members.

SkillBridge

The DoD SkillBridge program lets a member near the end of service train with you. The military keeps paying them. You pay nothing during the program. Program length depends on the member's branch and rank, so confirm the dates with each candidate.

Your clinic can apply to host. There is a gate first. The current SkillBridge MOU sets it. A host must be registered with a U.S. state for at least three years. It must also be in good standing. Federal agencies and state and local governments are exempt. A clinic that opened last year cannot host yet.

You can make an offer during the program. You cannot pay them during it. Employment and pay normally start after the separation date. For the full setup, read our guide on whether a small business can host SkillBridge interns.

Guard and Reserve units

The Air Force lists Physical Medicine as an Air Force Reserve job too. Reserve members hold civilian jobs between drills. Some are looking for exactly your kind of clinic. See our guide on partnering with Reserve and Guard units for recruiting.

Veteran talent pools

A veteran talent pool lets you search for candidates instead of waiting for them to apply. Search on the words a rehab tech would use: physical therapy, rehab, modalities, therapeutic exercise. Run the same search again each month as new people leave the service.

What should you ask in the interview?

Ask about the work, not the war. You want to know how they ran a clinic day. These questions get real answers.

1. Walk me through a normal clinic day: Listen for patient count, setup, and how they worked with the therapist.
2. Tell me about a patient who was not getting better: Listen for how they spotted it and who they told.
3. What modalities did you set up most? Ask them to explain one the way they would to a patient.
4. How did you chart a visit? You want a habit, not a perfect answer.
5. Where do you want to be in three years? This tells you if they want the PTA path. Plan the role around the answer.

Keep the questions safe. Skip discharge type, disability, and future deployments. Our list of military service questions you cannot ask in interviews covers the lines to stay behind.

A short working interview can help too. Have the candidate set up a treatment room or walk a staff member through an exercise. Pay them for the time. Wage laws can treat real floor work as paid work. Ten minutes on the floor tells you more than an hour of questions.

How do you onboard them and plan around drill?

A military tech knows the work. What is new is your clinic. Plan the first month around that.

• Week one: your electronic health record, your billing codes, and how a visit gets documented.
• Week two: state aide rules. Show them exactly what they may and may not do in your state.
• Weeks three and four: shadow each therapist so they learn how each one runs a plan of care.
• Day 30: sit down and ask what is unclear. Military techs are used to clear tasks and clear standards.

Pair them with a lead tech or a therapist for the first month. Our guide to a veteran sponsor program shows how to set one up without a big budget.

Guard and Reserve scheduling

Some hires will still serve in the Guard or Reserve. That means drill weekends and annual training. The federal law USERRA, 38 U.S.C. 4311, covers this. An employer can't deny a job, a promotion, or a job benefit because of that service. That includes the hiring decision itself.

The rules for leave and return have details and exceptions. Talk to your employment counsel before you build a policy. In practice, ask for the drill calendar early. Many units set it months out. Build your schedule around it the same way you plan around a therapist's vacation. Our guide on drill weekend scheduling walks through it.

What to Do Next

You don't need a big program to hire veterans for physical therapy work. You need four things done this week.

1. Rewrite the job post: List 68F, 4J0X2, NEC L20A, and physical therapy technician by name, so the right people find it.
2. Check your state aide rules: write the duties to match them before you post.
3. Decide your PTA support: paid study time, exam fees, or a flexible schedule. Put a number on it.
4. Search a veteran talent pool: use the rehab terms above and reach out to the strongest matches.

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Want to see who is out there before you post again? Reach out about access to the BMR veteran talent pool. Want a steady pipeline of rehab techs instead of one filled seat? Partner with us and we will help you build it.