Secretary Darcy Celebrates the Opening of the Fourth Veterans Curation Lab in Indian Country

By U.S. ArmyAugust 26, 2016

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On Thursday, Secretary Darcy, joined by Corps staff attended the opening event for the Veterans Curation Program (VCP) at the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Nation in Nespelem, Wa.

The Veterans Curation Program provides employment and vocational training for recently separated veterans using archaeological collections administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Currently, two veterans are employed as archaeological technicians at the Colville VCP laboratory. During the opening event, technicians demonstrated some of the methods used in rehabilitating archaeological collections and discussed the various skills they have gained while with VCP that will help prepare them for their civilian careers or higher education.

The Veterans Curation Program illustrates the Corps and the Obama Administration's commitment and long term investment in veterans, partnerships, and historic preservation. 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. We owe them a strong support system and the means to integrate back in to the work force so they can be competitive in the job market and in turn support themselves and their families.

"We're going to have our heroes preserving our history," said Darcy. "That's a history for all of us to share and all of us to be proud of. We wouldn't be able to do it unless their selfless sacrifice had been made."