The Veterans Curation Program (VCP) provides veterans with tangible work skills and experience through rehabilitation and preservation of federally owned or administered archaeological collections.  The program currently operates three labs located in Alexandria, VA , Augusta, GA, and St. Louis, MO with roughly 30 veterans at a time, but is looking to expand to serve more veterans and better process the nation’s archaeological collections as funding allows.  For five years, the Corps of Engineers and its partners have successfully developed the Veterans Curation Program, benefitting the nation’s veterans and cultural heritage.

Veterans, primarily from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, are employed for up to 5 months in both parttime and full-time positions.  The VCP provides veterans with an opportunity to receive competitive pay while learning new job skills through technical training in a peer-to-peer veterans’ environment. Veterans acquire skills, including: Computer database management, Records management, Photographic and scanning technologies, Microsoft Office® software proficiency, Processing & curation of archaeological collections, A knowledge of archaeology & history, Vocabulary & writing skills, Increased interpersonal communication skills. The work products developed in archaeological curation readily translate to entry level skill sets for the museum, forensics, administrative, and records management fields. Jobs at the VCP are tailored to fit the capabilities of disabled veterans.

The Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Ms. Jo-Ellen Darcy, speaking at the Augusta public opening stated, “No group of people has done more to forge our national identity throughout history than the veterans who have served and sacrificed for the nation.”