NORTH BRUNSWICK – Dennis Anthony Penny Jr. is using a new chapter in his life to pay it forward.
The 35-year-old North Brunswick resident said he got into some trouble around his 17th birthday, and was enrolled in a pre-trial intervention program: either go into the military or go to jail, he said.
He said he spoke to representatives of all branches of the military, but was only able to sign a waiver with the U.S. Navy in 2001. He thought we would just “be in the Navy on a boat” until the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
He had finished training and was at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York, when he said he and his fellow officers thought there was a movie shoot taking place in lower Manhattan. Then they saw the World Trade Center on fire, and watched the second plane hit the south tower. After a delay they heard a “boom” and actually thought there were enemies on the ground throughout downtown New York.
That began his transition from a swimmer to aircrew, transporting military members in a helicopter in Japan, Singapore and the Middle East.
“We risked getting shot down,” he said of the dangers of his missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the Battle Group USS Reagan.
He spent 2001-09 stationed out of Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California. He would be away for months at a time on a ship that could house 5,000 people, in what he described as a giant warehouse.
“It’s like its own city within itself,” he said, recalling how he bumped into a former trainee two years after they had been on the same boat together.
He said the experience “shaped me to be the person I am today” – describing his younger self as one who kept to himself, he said he is now described as being more relatable.
“You interact with different cultures and see different people’s points of view [overseas],” he said. ‘It’s not just black and white. You have to acknowledge the gray area.”
After his service, at age 28 he went back to school, which he called “terrifying.”
“I remember getting out and being, like, ‘I have no idea what to do’,” Penny recalled. “It was literally like starting over and trying to catch up.”
He said he had to adjust to civilian life by managing his anger and breaking bad habits. For example, he had a meltdown over a lack of ice cubes at a party. Or, he had to learn he didn’t have to be on high alert all the time.
“A lot of veterans have anger issues, depression. Seeing enough of that does take a toll on you. If someone doesn’t show it, it means they’re hiding it,” he said.
“Once I got out, that’s when the real transition started for me,” Penny said. “Once I learned how to ask for help and get advice from people, and put my life in somebody else’s hands, my life really turned around.”
He studied criminal justice because he said most veterans assume law enforcement is a natural transition due to familiarity, the uniform and the structure.
He got his associate degree from Middlesex County College, and then completed his bachelor’s degree in national security studies at New Jersey City University.
He attended MCC on the GI Bill, but said he had “no idea what to do with it.” He was mentored by Paul Lazaro, who was the assistant director of Veteran Services, and David Brimmer, who was the coordinator of Veterans Services, in 2009.
“The same way these guys helped me transition, that’s what I wanted to do,” Penny said.
When both men left to work for Veterans Affairs, Penny replaced Lazaro at MCC since finding a career in police work was difficult. Then, Penny joined Rutgers University as the certifying official for the Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services.
He then recommended Lazaro for the position of director of Veteran Services at Rutgers University in Newark.
“They groomed me. They helped me here,” Penny said. “I wanted to pay it forward. … The plan is to get all our veterans in positions of power.”
With 2,000 military-affiliated students at the three Rutgers campuses – and 1,000 at New Brunswick alone – the eight full-time staff members at the Office of Veteran and Military Programs help veterans with navigating the GI Bill, transitioning into college, recreational activities and other services. He said Rutgers is ranked fourth in the country for veterans services by “Military Times”.
Penny also reaches his fellow veterans by co-hosting The Veterans Corner radio show Wednesdays at noon on Rutgers Radio WRSU 88.7 FM with Don Buzney. When he and his boss Bryan Adams appeared on the show as guests about two years ago, he was tagged as “the guy with the voice” and was asked to join the team.
“I like it. You meet interesting people. And you definitely get the word out,” he said.
Penny said this is important because veterans are not that different from each other.
“You might think you’re alone but we’re not so different,” he said. “You could come from Montana or Camden and your military experience was probably the same.”
Penny said he would do it all again – while making some changes. He said there is a lot of pride in being an American veteran.
“If you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything,” he said. “Knowing what I do is helping veterans be successful; that’s enough for me.”
Contact Jennifer Amato at [email protected].