Comments on: Joint Military – Peace Corps Program Being Reconsidered

By: Billy

Billy — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 06:31:56 +0000

Interesting. I currently attending a military academy, technically Active Duty, and cannot join the Peace Corps until at least 7 years down the road, after my commitment. I would LOVE for a program like this to be put in place, but I understand where people are coming from. I'm not even sure if Officers are eligible for this program, as I just heard about it today.

By: SFC Ski

SFC Ski — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 19:20:40 +0000

While I applaud anyone who chooses to enlist in the military or serve in the Peace Corps, they are 2 very different commitments, and should not be combined.

By: DL

DL — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 18:37:04 +0000

John McCain working with the Democrat de jour can hardly be called bi-partisan now can it?

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 14:44:58 +0000

Getting a little real thinking--as opposed to idealization--going on in Peace Corps might not be a bad thing, actually.

And not all Peace Corps assignments are "safe." There's a trade-off in the kinds of dangers being faced. One of my brothers was Country Director for Peace Corps in Niger. He had to close the program because too many volunteers were getting sick and dying, simply because they could not get access to clean water, nor to the even minimal technology to purify the water... things like "fire".

I suspect, though, that the cognative dissonance resulting from a former soldier working in the PC would be insuperable. The world views are dramatically different for the most part.

By: Sneem

Sneem — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 14:25:45 +0000

If you enlist in the military, you enlist in the military. We paid to trian them as soldiers, we should get our money's worth out of them. If you want to join the Peace Corps, join the Peace Corps. I see no need for such an arrangement in an all volunteer military setting. The Peace Corps might be an acceptable alternative in a draft environment. I don't see the point in our current situation.

By: LJD

LJD — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 13:54:02 +0000

I would say that the "impression" gained by foreign cultures kind of depends on where you are deployed. Even a long haired, brikenstock wearing hippie would not be warmly welcomed as an American citizen in many countries.

Yet, I'll agree that there is an interesting conflict of values: those traditionally military, and that of Peace Corps.

By: DC Loser

DC Loser — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 13:29:12 +0000

This was a stupid idea in the first place. Peace Corp volunteers should not in any way be affiliated with the DoD. They do good work and we shouldn't be giving anyone the impression they are DoD spies out collecting information on the people they are trying to help.