To me, all those provide service not only internationally but domestically. I could see where this sort of volunteerism would have been effective for Hurricane Katrina, or elsewhere. So we could have international and domestic. I would like to see our government capture all the options, build the program, "and then put it in our high schools and colleges as an option. So on career day you can look at these steps and these options and this would be explained as to where you feel you can best serve.
"Some people feel best that they can serve in uniform. Others in doing some sort of humanitarian work. Others in maybe working in government to help better create institutions, like rule of law institutions, or working with others in the area of diplomacy, or in other things that can support our effort.
"So I would like to see a broad based program that allows for all this."
Former head of the US Joint Special Operations Command and top commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, speaking to enlarging national service in general, said:
"The goal is to create 1 million civilian national service opportunities every year for Americans between the ages of 18 and 28 to get outside their comfort zones while serving side by side with people from different backgrounds."
Climate change will get worse before it may start to get better. Terrorism will get worse before its hatreds and ignorances are reversed. Advances along these two fronts will require more peaceful, development oriented platoons in the field at home and abroad.
And these bigger platoons, from nations other than just our own, must be funded to work over at least a generation, as the AWSC Proposal proposes, since true and lasting development usually takes several generations. Military machines cannot implant cultural changes and democracy over a handful of years.
Investing in these full-time national service volunteers, working through existing organizations but under the public relations enhancing American World Service Corps banner, comes at a small fraction of what it costs to field a warring soldier, about $1+ million per year vs. $35k.
Can there be any more cost effective development and public relations investment to reverse our costly war prone habits?
Just because the country has saddled itself with a do-nothing Congress is not reason enough to not have the AWSC Congressional Proposal introduced and debated by visionary congressional reps. Let Americans see and hear who in Congress has vision. Such debate and observation should enlighten and hasten the making of smart and meaningful legislation.
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