After being medically retired from the Marines in 2016, Mark Snyder faced a new challenge: adjusting to the civilian world without his battle buddies.

“I miss it every day,” he said of his time in the military.

Then Snyder learned about a local machine shop with an apprenticeship program for veterans. The former helicopter mechanic who lives in Wright City said the program sounded like the fresh start he needed.

“I was excited,” he said. “It seemed like a new chapter.”

Six months later, Snyder said he has found what he had been missing from his days in the military: a group of people who had his back.

“There’s a sense of camaraderie here,” he said.

It’s exactly what Stacy Camden and Mike McGhee, co-owners of Tight 360 Tool and Machine, were hoping to achieve when they opened the Jonesburg business.

Camden, who is also a disabled Army combat veteran, had seen too many leave the military lacking the support they needed to make the transition. McGhee and Camden named the business Tight 360 after a defensive tactical maneuver in which a squad forms a close circle with their weapons pointed outward. The shop was to become a place where disabled veterans could not only build a new career, but rebuild their lives.

Before long, word got out about the business’ efforts to hire veterans. JoAnn Toerper of the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission helped put Camden and McGhee in touch with the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Tight 360 registered apprenticeship program was born.

With learning tracks for welders, fabricators and CNC machinists, each apprenticeship lasts about three years and consists of hands-on training, online learning and guest speakers from area technical schools and the shop’s own vendors.

Camden said that the apprenticeship also offers training for everyday life, with personal development modules on topics such as budgeting. Counseling is also available to the veterans, he said.

McGhee said the apprenticeship is mutually beneficial.

“It’s paid on-the-job training. From our point of view, we’re investing time and money now, but our efforts will be rewarded later with a happy workforce doing profitable work,” he said, adding that veterans bring a strong work ethic to the job. “Being on time, being personally accountable, those are things the military teaches that translate well in the manufacturing industry.”

The shop currently employs two other veterans full-time, and hopes to hire more as the apprenticeship program grows.

After 23 surgeries, Snyder is gradually recovering from the injuries he sustained while serving, including two traumatic brain injuries. He likes to stay busy to keep his mind off it.

“I really don’t like missing work unless it’s something serious,” he said.

Snyder may still need another surgery in the fall, and he’s thankful for an employer who is supportive of his recovery.

“They’ve been great,” he said. “They’ve been really flexible with my medical stuff.”

Hearing this, McGhee smiled and shook his head.

“He’s barely missed anything since he got here,” he said. “He’s the hardest worker we have.”