Jacksonville, Fla. - In conjunction with a continuing growth in business, Atlantic Logistics has expanded its talent development program and hired two new individuals into the company. “Our philosophy on developing talent is to bring qualified individuals on board and grow them as they learn more about the logistics industry and our company,” said Robert Hooper, CEO, Atlantic Logistics.  “In the case of our operations group, we prefer to hire them as assistants to work with our tenured logistics specialists.  After they have gained experience and helped develop their own customer base, we will look to promote them into logistics specialists in their own right and begin the talent development cycle over again. This especially applies to individuals with prior military service, who always get top consideration for these opportunities.” The company’s newest logistics assistants are Chris McDowell and Brad Watson.   Prior to joining Atlantic Logistics, McDowell spent four years as a fabrication apprentice with Matrix Machine and Repair in both Hampton, Va. and Jacksonville, Fla. and spent one year as a forklift operator with Seaonus Stevedoring in Jacksonville.  He also spent five years with the U.S. Army Florida National Guard.  McDowell is a graduate of Florida State College in Jacksonville. Most recently, Watson served as a contract administrator for two years with SumTotal Systems in Gainesville, Fla.  Before that, he worked in the healthcare industry for AFLAC, AvMed Health Plans and Florida Survey Research Center of the University of Florida.  Watson is a graduate of the University of Florida, majoring in economics. “We believe that individuals like Chris and Brad bring a fresh perspective to their new work in the logistics industry and will work with as logistics assistants under the direction of our more senior personnel until they are ready to move up,” Hooper added.