What vets say they need most

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Mark Anthony Newberry II will never forget the years he spent in the Navy serving his country.

"I did accelerate my life," Newberry says. "That's the Navy's thing for getting people to join."

But once he left about a year and a half ago, it was like someone tapped the brakes.

"I had my bumps in the road when I first got back," Newberry says.

But now Mark is in the process of training for his new job and he says he has one program to thank for it.

"If you ask you shall receive," Newberry says.

Ohio V.E.T.S. is a program started this summer at Dayton's Community Action Partnership.

Veterans got a free meal Monday and a chance to hear about how the program can help them land a job.

It's designed to go beyond just offering training and resume help.

"If a veteran is going for an interview but doesn't have a suit for that interview we eliminate that barrier," says Dominic Flemingson with Community Action Partnership.

Flemingson is a veteran himself.

He says what makes the transition for many veterans tough is that the military dictates so much of their lives but once home they're on their own.

"When mom is holding your hand and then all of the sudden she's not holding your hand anymore, then you have to fend for yourself," Flemingson says.

Right now 57 veterans are in the program.

The goal is help 100 people by next summer, so they can be like Newberry who is back to accelerating his life.

"It's a very hard transition but through diligence comes progress," Newberry says.

For more information on Ohio V.E.T.S. click here .