Home / Careers / Army Fellows

Army Fellows Program Mission

The Army Fellows Program, previously known as the DA Intern Program, supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop technically trained engineers and scientists ready for entry level job duties. This program recruits, hires, and trains engineers and scientists to staff technical sections at the Walla Walla District Headquarters and at multipurpose hydroelectric power plants in the Walla Walla District.

These positions are Department of Defense – Army civilian positions. No military enlistment is required.

McNary Lock and Dam
The dam is 7,365 feet long, rising approximately 183 feet above the streambed. It consists of a concrete structure with an earthfill embankment at the Oregon (south) abutment. The spillway is a concrete, gravity-type spillway dam. It is 1,310 feet long, and contains 22 vertical lift gates, each 50 feet by 51 feet. The crest is at elevation 291 feet mean sea level and is designed to pass a flood of 2,200,000 cubic feet per second.
Lucky Peak Dam
The Lucky Peak project includes the dam, Lucky Peak Lake, federally owned lands managed by the Corps, and operational and recreational facilities. The project provides flood control, fish and wildlife habitat, irrigation and recreation. Since 1961, more than $2.37 billion in potential flood damages have been prevented.
Mill Creek Channel
About 5,000 feet of the Mill Creek channel is federally operated and maintained. The locally operated portion of the channel begins at the Mill Creek-Bennington Lake unit and extends six miles through the city of Walla Walla.
Mill Creek Dam
The dam is an earthfill structure with a heavy gravel face located in a drainage off of Mill Creek. The dam is 800 feet wide at the base, 125 feet high, 20 feet wide at the top and 3,200 feet long at the crest. A 2260 foot long concrete cutoff wall extends 2 feet into bedrock.
Lower Granite Lock and Dam
This congressionally authorized project consists of Lower Granite Dam, navigation lock, powerhouse, a fish ladder and associated facilities. The project provides hydroelectric generation, navigation, recreation and incidental irrigation.
Little Goose Lock and Dam
Little Goose construction started in June 1963. The dam is 2,655 feet long with an effective height of about 100 feet. It is located on the Snake River near Starbuck, Wash., and upstream of Lake West, the reservoir formed by Lower Monumental Dam. It is a concrete gravity dam with an earthfill abutment embankment. It includes a navigation lock and eightbay spillway 512 feet long, which has eight 50 feet by 60 feet tainter gates. The installation of power generating units one through three was completed, and the first unit began producing power in March 1970. Additional power units four through six were installed and power for those units came online in July 1978. Revisions were made to the juvenile fish facility in 1982 and 1984.
Dworshak Dam
Located in Ahsahka, Idaho, this congressionally authorized project includes Dworshak Dam, Dworshak Reservoir lands, powerhouse, recreation facilities, wildlife mitigation and Dworshak National Fish Hatchery.
Fish Passage
The Corps of Engineers recognizes that fish have significant cultural, natural, economical and recreational importance to our Nation. Many dams have fish ladders and juvenile bypass systems already installed, and investments are continuing to be made to improve fish passage. The bypass system at Lower Granite Dam (above) is similar to systems at many other Corps dams. The juvenile salmon and steelhead collected by these systems are loaded on to barges and transported down the Snake and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific Ocean.
Fish Passage
Navigation – Powering Commerce
The navigation lock at Lower Granite Dam is 674 feet long, 86 feet wide and 122 feet high with a water volume capacity of approximately 46,000,000 gallons. The lock is gravity filled and drained by operating a series of large submersible tainter gates. Annually, the lock services over 1,500 lockages transporting millions of tons of cargo (fertilizer, petroleum, wood products, grain, etc…) to and from the inland port in Clarkston, WA to the Pacific Ocean.
Navigation

 

 

What do Army Fellows do?

  • Participate in 2-year full-time training program through experiential learning, hands-on shadowing at multipurpose hydroelectric power plants, and on-the-job mentoring.
  • Experience career-broadening assignments in the Walla Walla District through paid learning rotations that include engineering, planning, construction, operations, natural resource management, project management, real estate and military construction.
  • Gain knowledge on the operations of different departments within U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and explore interests related to discipline-specific specialties.
  • Army Fellows are typically offered continued full-time employment and assigned a targeted position and career field once the program is complete.

  • Develop leadership skills and strong foundation for future professional growth and advancement.

Who are we looking for?

  • Highly motivated engineers and scientists who aspire to work on all aspects of engineering and science related to civil works.
  • Recent graduates with a qualifying degree.
  • Careers include
    • Engineers (mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, hydraulic, hydrologic, and cost)
    • Scientists (i.e. biologists, geologists, economists)
    • Architects
    • Real Estate Specialists

 

JBLM
Army Fellows discussing construction activity at Joint Base Lewis McChord.
Ice Harbor Project
Army Fellows viewing stator for Unit 1 at Ice Harbor Project.
Ice Harbor Project
Army Fellows attending fish passage presentation at Ice Harbor Project.
The Dalles Project
Army Fellows touring the navigation lock miter gate machinery at The Dalles Project.
Dworshak Reservoir
Army Fellows loading up for a Boat Tour of Dworshak Reservoir.
Dworshak Reservoir
Army Fellows on a recreational floating boat dock on Dworshak Reservoir.
Mud Mountain Fish Passage Facility
Army Fellows touring fish passage facility on the White River near Buckley, WA.
Lucky Peak Dam Intake Tower
Army Fellows crossing the Lucky Peak Dam Intake Tower at Low Pool.
Ice Harbor Project
Army Fellows inspecting the spillway at Ice Harbor Project.
JLBM
2023 Northwest Division Army Fellows at Joint Base Lewis McChord.
Grand Coulee Dam
2023 Walla Walla District Army Fellows touring the third powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam.

 

 

How to Apply?

Hiring for the Army Fellows takes place throughout the year with an emphasis during university career fairs. Positions are posted on the USAJOBS or Army Civilian Service websites.

 

Army Fellows positions fall under General Schedule Classification and Pay. A current salary table for GS positions can be found here.

Contact Us

Walla Walla District, Corps of Engineers
ATTN: Army Fellows Program
201 North Third Avenue
Walla Walla, WA 99362

 

Phone: 509-527-7020

Email: cenww-pa@usace.army.mil

Key Personnel: Public Affairs Officer