Job Listing
🔗Veterans Fire Corps Crew Member

Website Southeast Conservation Corps
Southeast Conservation Corps: Engaging future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands through community-based service. Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC), a program of Conservation Legacy, is a non-profit, AmeriCorps-affiliated organization. SECC selects young adults, ages 18-30, up to 35 for veterans, to complete conservation service projects on public lands throughout the Southeast. SECC provides members with impactful opportunities through a unique set of programs that engage people in meaningful education and service to their communities and natural landscapes. SECC serves a diverse population that is representative of the Southeast, including youth, graduates, veterans, and a cross-section of ethnicities and income levels. SECC is also an active member of the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (A-DRT), and as such, selected crews may be deployed on Disaster response projects for up to 30 days.
Position Summary:
The Veterans Fire Corps (VFC) program provides training and on-the-job experience for post-9/11 era veterans ages 18-35 who are interested in entering careers and gaining experience in prescribed fire and fuels reduction and natural resource management. The program engages participants in a cohort environment in which a crew of recent-era Veterans train and complete projects related primarily to “fuels management,” which will include prescribed burning. Members should expect projects and schedules to vary depending on region and season. Wildland firefighting demands a high level of fitness to navigate difficult environmental conditions, including steep terrain, extreme temperatures, altitude, and smoke. This program will provide practical, hands-on training and certifications related to park management, natural resource management and wildland firefighting. The program is comprehensive and intentionally structured to prepare Veterans to transition into civilian careers focused on wildland firefighting. Additional opportunities such as repeated networking with Federal employees and training on the federal land management application process are also included in this program.
Service Project:
This Veteran Fire Crew will typically be stationed at Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area in Onieda, TN but can also be deployed to other National Park Service sites within the Southeast region. During their time in the field, crew members camp overnight and perform their service projects outdoors in all types of weather conditions, performing heavy manual labor related to wildland fire and natural resource projects. Members should expect projects and schedule to vary depending on region, season, and weather conditions. In addition to fire, the crew should be prepared to assist on a variety of projects including trail maintenance, invasive species removal, habitat management, and other emergency response needs.
Comfort with ambiguity and being apart of a fast-paced team is a must with this position as schedules and projects change often. When on projects locally, the schedule is typically 4 days on, followed by 3 days off. Camping “hitches” requires members to camp and live on project locations for 8 – 14 days at a time, followed by a pre-determined number of days off.
The home base for this crew is Big South Fork River & Recreation Area. It is paramount that members understand they can be a roving throughout the Southeastern United States depending on partner and project needs.
Note: When camping on a project location is required, members will camp, travel, serve, and eat as a crew. No drug or alcohol consumption is allowed during project-related travel at any time.
Members will earn the following training and certifications:
S130: Firefighter Training
S190: Intro to Wildland Fire Behavior
S212: Wildland Fire Chainsaws
ICS100: Introduction to Incident Command System
IS700: Introduction to the National Incident Management System
L180: Human Factors in Wildland Fire Service
Wilderness First Aid Certification
Public Land Corps Hiring Authority Certificate (upon successful completion of hours)
Members must pass the Arduous Work Capacity (Pack) Test within the season’s beginning weeks to participate in prescribed fire operations.