Transition

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Veterans and active military in North Carolina will have access to a new benefits guide launching this Independence Day weekend.

The North Carolina Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs produced a resource guide with details about programs available to those who served and their families.

The 140 page booklet has sections on employment, healthcare, education, disability benefits, and much more.

For the better part of the past half century, Vietnam veteran Bob Luckett has been working in the construction industry.

Luckett, 69, started out as a laborer in a masonry company after completing his military service in 1971. It was tough work at first. His boss “was great, but he worked you to death,” he said, and soon Luckett developed an allergy to the lime in mortar.

“My hands were like hamburgers.”

Benny Kinsey retired from the Army in 2010 thinking his experience as a command sergeant major with two bachelor’s degrees and an MBA would make it easy to land a job in the civilian workforce. 

It didn’t. 

“My transition was absolutely horrible,” said Kinsey, 48, who struggled to get interviews – even to stock shelves at a grocery store. “It was to the point that I was having problems paying my bills.” 

At the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, the estimator from Portsmouth, Va., rubbed elbows with Richard Petty. He met 2016 Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year Chase Elliott. And, he rode in a pace car for two laps prior to the AAA Texas 500, as it ripped around the track at nearly 100 mph. 

The U.S. Naval veteran, who grew up around rabid racing fans, was elated that day, as he was one of 10 veterans currently working in the collision repair industry to be honored by 3M’s automotive aftermarket division.