By Admin1 (admin) (pool-141-157-23-45.balt.east.verizon.net - 141.157.23.45) on Tuesday, August 02, 2005 - 6:08 pm: Edit Post |
Director Vasquez says the National Call to Service (NCS) program will not have an impact on the Peace Corps
"The Peace Corps has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are retired military or on IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) status--similar to those in the NCS program--and who then served successfully as Volunteers. Currently, there are, on average, approximately two inactive military personnel a month who are completing the application process and being invited to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers. "
Director Vasquez says the National Call to Service (NCS) program will not have an impact on the Peace Corps
July 21, 2005
Dear Mr. Quigley and Mr. Hill:
Thank you for your letter of July 7, 2005, in which you raise concerns regarding the National Call to Service (NCS) program and its possible impact on the Peace Corps. I would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns and to clarify any misunderstandings that may exist with some in the RPCV community. At my direction, Deputy Director Jody Olsen recently met with Kevin Quigley and was provided with initial guidance on these matters. Let me assure you both that the Peace Corps has conducted an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the NCS program, and we are happy to share our findings with you. As I believe the facts will show, the NCS program will not have an impact on the Peace Corps.
The legislative history of the NCS program dates back to 2001 when the program was introduced by U.S. Senators Evan Bayh and John McCain in a stand alone bill. In its original version, the program did not include the Peace Corps. Later the legislation was included in the Department of Defense fiscal year 2003 authorization bill and the Peace Corps was added as a national service option. The bill was passed by Congress and signed into law in December 2002. The law provides for the program to be reviewed by the Department of Defense in December 2007 to determine whether it will be continued. Under this program, an NCS participant (someone who must have no prior military service) enters into an agreement that sets a specified period (eight years) of national service. That agreement specifies that the participant has initial entry training, followed by:
• 15 months on active duty in a military occupational specialty "that will facilitate pursuit of national service" as designated by the secretary of defense. One example of such a military occupational specialty is humanitarian relief.
• After that, the participant serves additional active duty for a period determined by the secretary or a period of 24 months in an active status in the Selected Reserve.
• Finally, the participant must serve the remaining period of obligated service in one of the following (or a combination thereof): active duty, Selected Reserve, Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), the Peace Corps, Americorps, or some other national service program designated by the secretary of defense and the head of the other national service program.
Thus, service in the Peace Corps is one of several options and would be voluntary. Peace Corps service would come after active status in the military in the service-related military occupational specialty noted above and would be a two-year part of the completion of the participant’s remaining period of obligated national service. The NCS participant would be in IRR status while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
The Peace Corps has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are retired military or on IRR status--similar to those in the NCS program--and who then served successfully as Volunteers. Currently, there are, on average, approximately two inactive military personnel a month who are completing the application process and being invited to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers. These successful applicants then must do the following:
"Applicants with military or national guard obligation must provide MRPS/P with a written statement from their commanding officer that their presence will not be required by their military unit for the duration of their Peace Corps service, except in case of national emergency." 22 Code of Federal Regulations § 305.2(h).
For fiscal year 2004, the Department of Defense reported 1,916 NCS new service members throughout all branches of the military. These first participants will not be eligible for Peace Corps service until 2007, and then only if they have applied and are accepted.
Although NCS participants can choose to apply to the Peace Corps, the decision to accept them for Peace Corps Volunteer service rests entirely with the Peace Corps. The Department of Defense implementation document is quite clear on that point: "NCS participation does not guarantee acceptance into the NSP [National Service Program]. All eligibility criteria of the NSP must be met."
Neither the Peace Corps’ eligibility criteria nor its placement operations will be changed for applicants from the NCS program. NCS participants who apply to the Peace Corps will have to follow the same application process as all other applicants and will be evaluated in the same way as all other applicants. So too, the placement of applicants from the NCS program will follow existing procedures, which identify a match between a country’s request for assistance and the skills, experience, and background of the applicant.
NCS participants receive a standard compensation package only while on active or selected reserve status and are entitled to receive an incentive award predicated on completing the active duty phase of their service commitment and separation with an honorable discharge. The award options include a bonus of $5,000 to be paid at the completion of active duty or reenlistment/extension on active duty, loan repayments, and education allowances for those that qualify.
We have confirmed with the Department of Defense that NCS participants on IRR status do not receive compensation from the military. Because NCS participants who become Peace Corps Volunteers have to be on IRR status, they would not be receiving compensation from the military while serving as Volunteers.
Our thorough review of the NCS program brings us to the conclusion that the NCS program will not have any impact on the agency. Nevertheless, we will continue to closely monitor the NCS program in the coming months and years. We have an understanding with all branches of the military regarding the Peace Corps’ normal application and service procedures and will be restating these procedures in writing to the secretary of defense. The Peace Corps’ mission, goals, and independence are as strong today as they have been throughout our 44-year history.
Should you require additional information or elaboration, I or Deputy Director Olsen would be happy to discuss this further with you.
Sincerely,
Gaddi H. Vasquez
Director
When this story was posted in July 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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July 8, 2005: PC suspends program in Gabon
Peace Corps announced the suspension of the program in Gabon citing the high cost of the program. In addition, a 2003 Inspector General report documented safety and security costs of $1 million that would be necessary to keep the program operating successfully. Background: In 1998 Peace Corps Volunteer Karen Phillips was was found murdered in the weeds about 100 yards from her home in Oyem, Gabon. Her killer has never been brought to justice.
Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong
170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.
By Dan Carroll (cpe000f665a10df-cm00111adf6072.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com - 69.198.180.93) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 12:02 pm: Edit Post |
I wrote a column on this topic:
"The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love...just got a little tougher, thanks to some help the U.S. Peace Corps didn't need."
Find it at The Wild Duck:
http://www.wildduckdiary.com/?p=93
By b hudson (nat632.ny1.totality.com - 209.114.92.138) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 2:20 pm: Edit Post |
As a volunteer in Zimbabwe in 2000, I have strong feelings against any association with the volunteers and our military. While in consolidation, I was told previous to the parliamentary elections, 4 men with machine guns came knocking door to door looking for the school's headmaster of which I was staying at during my service. They were there to "take away" the headmaster if he was around because he and some other folks were known to have held meetings for the opposition party. If I were there and opened the door, it would not have been pretty. I'm not saying I would have been killed, but there would have been suspicion that I was there overseeing the effort and possibly funding it with my foreign money. While that's enough on its own to cause problems, if Peace Corps was associated with the military - you can imagine what these soldiers who were out for something would have deduced....
Its safer to keep it separate and keep any words related to military far away from the Peace Corps.
By b hudson (nat632.ny1.totality.com - 209.114.92.138) on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 2:19 pm: Edit Post |
As a volunteer in Zimbabwe in 2000, I have strong feelings against any association with the volunteers and our military. While in consolidation, I was told previous to the parliamentary elections, 4 men with machine guns came knocking door to door looking for the school's headmaster of which I was staying at during my service. They were there to "take away" the headmaster if he was around because he and some other folks were known to have held meetings for the opposition party. If I were there and opened the door, it would not have been pretty. I'm not saying I would have been killed, but there would have been suspicion that I was there overseeing the effort and possibly funding it with my foreign money. While that's enough on its own to cause problems, if Peace Corps was associated with the military - you can imagine what these soldiers who were out for something would have deduced....
Its safer to keep it separate and keep any words related to military far away from the Peace Corps.
By MajorOz (ppp-50.ras.man.centurytel.net - 64.91.46.2) on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 4:23 pm: Edit Post |
You are begging the question. PC should not have had volunteers in Zimbabwe in 2000, nor should it have volunteers in any country that is totalitarian (pause, here, for the usual anti-US screeds).
To do so is patently silly at least, and life-threatening at most.
Thought experiment: if civil war broke out, would you have refused evacuation by those nasty, war-mongering US Marines?
cheers
oz, USAF, 58-81; PC, 94-96