How to Hire Veterans in Texarkana Near Red River Army Depot

You run a shop in Texarkana. You need a diesel tech or a parts lead. You know Red River Army Depot sits just down the road. So you figure the area must be full of soldiers getting out.

It isn't, at least not the way you think. Red River is a depot, not a troop post. Most of the people who work there are civilians. Few soldiers finish their service there.

But the veterans are here. They just came to Texarkana by a different road. This guide shows you who they are and where to find them. It covers both sides of State Line Avenue. And it shows you how to read their resumes before you call. If you want the general playbook for a depot town, our Tobyhanna Army Depot guide covers it. This one is about Texarkana.

Who can you actually hire near Red River Army Depot?

Start with an honest picture. At a big Army post, thousands of soldiers leave the service every year. Employers near those posts can recruit people on their way out. Texarkana does not work that way.

Red River sits about 18 miles west of Texarkana in Bowie County. That comes from the Army's base closure records. Its workforce is mostly government and contract workers. There is no large unit of soldiers there to separate.

So the pool you can hire from looks different. It has four parts:

• Veterans who came home: Soldiers who grew up in the ArkLaTex often move back after they get out. They show up with a skill and family nearby.
• Guard and Reserve members: Army Reserve and National Guard units drill across the region. Their members hold civilian jobs and often want better ones.
• Military retirees: A retiree can live anywhere. Some pick a place with low costs and family close by. They bring 20 or more years of skills and a steady pension.
• Spouses: Many military spouses who moved for years with a service member now want a career that stays put.

There is a fifth group worth a note. People who work at the depot sometimes want a private job. They are not your main pool. But they live here, and many of them are veterans too.

What does Red River Army Depot do, and why does it matter to you?

The depot opened in 1941. Today it rebuilds and repairs Army vehicles. The Army calls it a Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for a wide range of vehicle platforms. In plain terms, it is where worn-out trucks and fighting vehicles go to be made new again.

Its work has included Humvees and MRAPs. It also repairs medium tactical trucks. It works with BAE Systems to rebuild the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Its rubber shop strips worn rubber from old track and road wheels. The depot remanufactures road wheels and track for many Army vehicles.

The depot is big. A 2025 Army release put its workforce at nearly 2,200 government and contract employees. The same release covered two rebuilt repair buildings for light and medium tactical vehicles.

That matters to you in two ways. First, the depot keeps vehicle repair skills alive in the region. Mechanics, welders, painters, and parts people build careers here. Second, the depot is your biggest rival for those same people. More on that below.

The area has a long defense history. The Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant sat right next to the depot. It closed in 2009 after a base closure round. Some of the old defense land is now the TexAmericas Center. The depot stayed open and kept its vehicle work.

Which Army jobs match your open roles?

Army job codes look like gibberish at first. But the ones that fit a Texarkana shop are easy to learn. Search for these first.

An Army 91B Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic fixes trucks, Humvees, and other wheeled vehicles. That is a diesel tech or fleet mechanic in your shop. Senior ones have often run a motor pool bay and checked other mechanics' work.

The Army 91M Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer works on tracked vehicles with complex drive and hydraulic systems. A 91H Track Vehicle Repairer does similar work on other tracked gear. Both fit heavy equipment and plant maintenance jobs.

On the supply side, look for an Army 92A Automated Logistical Specialist. They order parts and track stock in an Army supply system. That is a parts manager or inventory lead for you.

You will also see 88M, the Army truck driver. A soldier with that code often holds a military license on heavy trucks. Check how your state handles the move to a civilian CDL before you assume it carries over.

Want a deeper look at these trades? Read our guide on hiring veterans for automotive, heavy equipment, and diesel work. Then see our guide on hiring veterans into fleet maintenance management.

How do you compete with the depot for the same mechanic?

The depot wants the same people you want. A good diesel tech in Bowie County can apply to Red River on USAJOBS. Depot trade jobs are federal jobs. They come with federal pay scales and a federal retirement plan.

Know the number you are up against. Each depot posting on USAJOBS lists its pay range. Look up the same trade before you set your offer. Then you can price the job with your eyes open.

A midsize shop will not win a fight over the pension. So do not pick that fight. Win on the things a federal hiring process cannot match.

Speed is the big one. A veteran who just moved home has rent due. Say you call back in three days. The federal job takes three months. That gap is your best shot at the hire.

Also think about the retiree. A military retiree already has a pension. A federal pension is less of a pull for them. They want good work and respect for what they know. A small shop can give all of that.

Some of your applicants may also come from the depot itself. That is fine. Read their resumes with care, because federal resumes look different. Our guide on how to vet an ex-federal candidate shows what to look for.

How do you recruit on both sides of State Line Avenue?

Texarkana is one town in two states. The Texas side sits in Bowie County. The Arkansas side sits in Miller County. That means two state workforce systems. Do not stop at one. Use both.

The Texas side

Workforce Solutions Northeast Texas runs the local workforce office in Texarkana. Its board covers Bowie County and eight other counties in the region. Ask to meet the veteran staff there.

The Texas Veterans Portal points employers to WorkInTexas.com. That is the state's job matching site, and it offers recruiting help to Texas employers. The Texas Veterans Commission also has staff who teach employers how to hire veterans.

The Arkansas side

Arkansas runs its own network of Arkansas Workforce Centers. The state has veteran staff whose job is to reach out to employers. Call the state and ask who covers Miller County. One contact can send you candidates you would never see on the Texas side.

Local schools and units

Texarkana College offers a diesel technology program. Ask how to share openings with its students, including veterans using GI Bill benefits. Texas A&M University-Texarkana has a veterans services office too. Ask that office how to reach student veterans.

Then reach the Guard and Reserve. Members drill near home and work civilian jobs the rest of the month. Our guide on partnering with Guard and Reserve units shows how to start. Plan for drill weekends up front. Our drill weekend scheduling guide covers that.

How do you reach veterans who have not moved home yet?

The best Texarkana hire may live somewhere else right now. A 91B from New Boston could be at a post in another state today. He plans to come home when his contract ends. If you wait for him to apply, a bigger employer may find him first.

So search wider than the city limits. Look for veterans who list the ArkLaTex as where they want to work. Reach them months before they move. Our guide on how to source veterans far from a military base walks through it.

Timing helps too. Soldiers leave the service on a rhythm, not at random. Our veteran sourcing calendar shows when to start your outreach.

Look at nearby bases as well. The closest large active base is Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana. See our guide to recruiting veterans near Barksdale. Some airmen there grew up in East Texas or South Arkansas.

Two bigger metros sit within reach too. Read our guides on hiring veterans in Little Rock and hiring veterans in Dallas-Fort Worth. A veteran from Texarkana who works in Dallas might want to come home. Give them the reason.

How should you read a Texarkana veteran's resume?

You will see two kinds of resumes from this pool. One comes from a soldier. The other comes from someone who worked at the depot or another federal job. They read very differently.

A soldier's resume is full of codes. Look past them for four things. What gear did they work on? What level of repair did they do? How many people did they lead? What result did they get, like a fleet readiness rate?

A federal civilian resume can be long and dense, especially an older one. It may list every duty in detail. Do not hold that against the person. Federal hiring used to reward that style. Since September 2025, most federal job ads cap resumes at two pages. Some job ads are exceptions. Look for the same four things inside the detail.

Our guide on how to evaluate a veteran resume gives you a full checklist. Keep the phone screen simple. Ask one question: walk me through the last tough repair you solved. A real mechanic will tell you the symptom, the test, the fault, and the fix.

One more tip. Do not screen out a strong mechanic for a missing civilian cert. Many military mechanics never needed one. If your customers need a cert, offer to pay for it in the first year. That is a cheap way to win a good hire.

How does BMR help you hire veterans in Texarkana?

Finding veterans one call at a time is slow, and Texarkana makes it slower. The pool is spread out. Some of it does not even live here yet. That is the problem BMR solves.

Best Military Resume is a veteran talent platform. More than 1,000 new profiles are added every month. 75,185 resumes have been built on the platform. You can search for the skills your roles need, like wheeled vehicle repair or parts and supply work.

You do not need a booth or a big program. You reach out and start a real conversation with people who want stable work. That includes veterans who want to come home to the ArkLaTex.

The same approach works in other depot and arsenal towns. See our guide on recruiting veterans near Rock Island Arsenal for a similar market. Our logistics and supply chain hiring guide covers your warehouse and parts roles.

Ready to see who is out there? Reach out to access BMR's veteran talent pool. You can also learn how we work with companies on our partner with us page.