Workers with Disabilities: Talent for a Winning Team - June 2008
Curtis S. - "Honor, Courage, Commitment" (U. S. Navy Core Values)
A veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a United States Navy Reservist Petty Officer First Class, attached to the Navy Customs Battalion, PAPA, Curtis S. was continuing his commitment to serve our country in Kuwait when an accident caused injury to his knees.
A medical rehabilitation patient at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Curtis knew that the disability resulting from his injury would limit his military career. It was during this time that he became aware of the Transition Training Academy (TTA) located at the medical center. The TTA is a collaborative effort among government, military and private companies to provide career and skill transition training for wounded and injured veterans at no cost. The U.S. Department of Labor’s HireVetsFirst program and its Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Job Accommodation Network and DisabilityInfo.gov programs are key resources for the TTA program.
Exhibiting the same ambition he applied in his military service, Curtis joined the TTA program and was awarded a Certificate of Completion and a U.S. Congressional Certificate of Achievement. Equally impressed with him, the TTA staff offered Curtis an opportunity to join them as a program trainer. Today, Curtis’ life experiences are an asset to him and his fellow wounded and injured soldiers.
True to the U.S. Navy recruitment motto “Accelerate Your Life”, Curtis is equipped for his next transition and looks forward to joining America’s civilian workforce upon discharge.