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Veterans support group underway

Gaston Gazette - 7/27/2019

For veterans like Steve Bovee, transitioning back into life outside the U.S. military carries many challenges. A new support group in Gastonia intends to make the task easier.

Bovee served 20 years in the U.S. Army, earning the rank of staff sergeant before retiring last month. In the military, he spent eight years infantry and 12 years with human resources. He's originally from Ohio and he's now followed his mom to Gaston County, who moved to Mount Holly several years ago.

Aside from being new in town and not having many personal connections here, Bovee said the hardest thing for him is the feeling of lacking a task and purpose.

"I wake up in the morning, I don't have a job, I'm on vacation, I just do what I want to do, but in the back of my mind I'm like 'this isn't helping me get anywhere,'" he said. "Because in the Army you wake up at a certain time, you go to physical training in the morning, you go to work, you get off of work, and then so on and so forth throughout your day. So, not having that regiment is really hard for me and not having the camaraderie of the people that I worked with all the time."

On Saturday, Bovee--along with his young step daughter's Lily and Kaila--was among 20 veterans who attended the inaugural "Vets Helping Vets" meeting at the Adult Recreation Center on West Franklin Boulevard.

The purpose of the support program is to bridge gaps and provide assistance to veterans and their families, including transitioning back into civilian life, finding a job, seeking out support, receiving health services, and other relevant information.

U.S. Air Force veteran and Gastonia Ward 6 City Councilman David Humphries helped to launch the effort earlier this year after interacting with other veterans.

Those who attended Saturday's meeting heard presentations from Dana Draa, a coordinator with the W.G. Heffner VA Medical Center in Charlotte, the Gastonia Police Department, the Gaston YMCA Gateway Program, and representatives from other local employment or veterans support services.

Retired U.S. Army Col. Mike Cloy-- who was Bovee's first battalion commander 20 years ago -- delivered the keynote address on Saturday. Cloy is now director of employment for Veteran Services of the Carolinas. He encouraged those in attendance to embrace their status as a veteran and said "don't try to become a civilian again. You can't. It's impossible."

"If we try to become the person that we can't be anymore--that civilian, that person we were in high school or in college before we went in (to the military)--it won't work," Cloy said. "Let's think back to who you are, what's in your DNA, what's in your soul, and let's try to be that person that's going to help you reintegrate better, which is a veteran."

It made an impression on Bovee, who said he learned good information during the program.

"I made some really good contacts with people, especially Mike Cloy and Dana Draa, who are really going to help me personally with some things that I have going on, but also professionally as I start work as a veteran recruiter," Bovee said. "And then, just the camaraderie of being around other veterans."

The Vets Helping Vets meetings are expected to be held quarterly, though an exact date for the next meeting has not yet been determined.

For more information, call David Humphries at 704-862-8239 or email gaston.vets@gmail.com.

You can reach Eric Wildstein at 704-869-1828 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteEric.

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(c)2019 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

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