New vets agent eager to make a difference

Canton native Darin T. Devine, the new veterans agent for the town of Canton, has served his country as a member of the Massachusetts National Guard and the Army Reserve. He’s also worked as a police officer and for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a supervisory federal air marshal, flying on domestic flights and training other marshals. He served as part of the Criminal Investigation Task Force through the Department of Defense at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. But it was an encounter at the Canton Veterans Services Office that made him consider applying for the position of veterans agent.

Canton Veterans Agent Darin Devine

Following his retirement from both the National Guard and Homeland Security, Devine decided to work with his uncle, Tony Andreotti, who recently retired from the post after 20 years of service.

“At first, I was just going to volunteer and help Tony,” Devine said. On one of the days that Devine was going to work with Andreotti, he arrived at the office and learned that his uncle wasn’t feeling well and stayed home, but had forgotten to call him. Devine remained at the office, working with Jennifer Trethewey, who was Andreotti’s assistant. Devine said that a man in his 80s came to the office and was clearly distraught. His son had been killed in combat, and the man had received paperwork that needed to be filled out. He didn’t know how to do it.

Devine watched as Trethewey went through the papers with the man, organized everything, and explained what had to be done. By the time the man was on his way, Devine was hooked. “I’m ready to come in,” he said to himself. “I’d love to take this job and make a difference.”

A Canton native, Devine attended the Hansen Elementary School, Galvin Middle School and Canton High School. His woodworking teacher at GMS was Frank Labollita, who served in the military and is a retired brigadier general. Labollita is a friend of Devine’s father, the late John ‘Jack’ Devine, who was a detective for many years with the Canton Police Department.

Darin wanted to be a police officer like his father, and after high school graduation, he planned to go in that direction. Labollita encouraged him to join the National Guard first and gain experience; Devine followed his advice. “I had a great conversation with him,” he said.

Devine joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard in 1991 and served as a military intelligence analyst and a military police sergeant. In 1995, he joined the Stoughton Police Department, where he worked as a patrolman and a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) instructor, and created the Stoughton Police Department Honor Guard Unit. On September 11, 2001, Devine was activated by the National Guard and left the Stoughton PD several months later. He was assigned to security at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod.

At about the same time, Devine interviewed with the Department of Homeland Security and was offered a job as a federal air marshal. Shortly after starting that job, the National Guard ordered him to go to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where he did basic security. He returned to his air marshal career and later did investigative work in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2003 to 2007. He earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Western New England University and is working on a Master of Business Administration at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He retired from Homeland Security in 2015 and as a chief warrant officer 3 from the National Guard in 2018.

A single father, he enjoys traveling, camping and riding ATVs with his son, Cullen, who is 8, and traveling with his girlfriend and her family.

Devine started as the veterans agent on November 13 and has been learning as much as he can about his new job as well as working to enhance what is already in place. He has seen elderly veterans living just above the poverty line and the generosity of the Canton American Legion members and the Legion riders in helping all veterans. He has learned about the needs of spouses. “The veteran is gone, but the spouse is still here,” he said. “We’re here to support you.”

He turns to Andreotti, Labollita, and Bob DeYeso for support as he needs it. “They’re a great sounding board,” he said.

He has extended the hours at the Veterans Services office, keeping the office open until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays to accommodate veterans who are working. He plans to hold pizza nights so that veterans can bring their families, to bring back the Agent’s Corner column in the Canton Citizen, to create a Facebook page, and to coordinate with the Council on Aging to distribute information.

“A lot of small steps over the next year,” Devine said. “How can we enhance what’s already here and expand?”

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Jan 24 2020. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.