[Dfvgthyju]

Something nagging me about Bush's speech is this:

" A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time."

This did not pass over me lightly and instead made me do a double-take. Is he proposing that we establish what amounts to what the National Guard used to be?

The national guard seems to be the 6th branch of our military and no longer seems to function as a true reserve since enlistment assures active duty.

So this new Civilian Reserve Corps must be the new Army Reserve... I've heard of this proposition before but I thought it was General Wesley Clark's idea.

I would like to hear more about it and hope that it would be more than a recruiting ploy. Service to my country in some other capacity than toting a rifle or being in a warzone (at my age) is something that I would give serious consideration. But coming from Bush, I just don't trust it. Does anyone have a good idea about what exactly this Citizens Reserve Corps would actually be?

EDIT [I realize I got the title wrong -- It should read "Civilian" and not "Citizens" ]

[Xavier_Spinner_Wheels]

No government can get too big under Bush. He just can't control himself when it comes to creating beauracracy. Is this how Bush plans to create jobs?

[AdvertisingPo]

Yeah... I'd be interested to know what that was all about.

[Jeffery]

Of course they already do hire civilians to work for the military approximately 700,000 of them, I think what he wants is civilians working for the military abroad, just doing it for free.

[GtmFeqJJ]

I think it would be better if left to the states to train, and ensure the wellness of regulation, of any potential, militia of people who keep and bear arms.

I think the National Guard, would be more of a "national" guard, if it were not required to leave US soil.

[Xavier_Spinner_Wheels]

Maybe Bush would be able to grasp the purpose of the military if he had served.

[casinobonusa]

Wouldn't this new plan make our federal taxes skyrocket?

[ClorrerVeks]

Maybe Bush would be able to grasp the purpose of the military if he had served.

You served?

[JTS_tv]

I think it would be better if left to the states to train, and ensure the wellness of regulation, of any potential, militia of people who keep and bear arms.

I think the National Guard, would be more of a "national" guard, if it were not required to leave US soil.

Agreed. I'd have loved to serve in what the NG was advertised to be all those years ago - being there for the community, not front-line troops in active combat in a war of aggression.

[Xavier_Spinner_Wheels]

You served?

Sure did.

[ClorrerVeks]

Sure did.

What branch?

[Dfvgthyju]

I'm wondering exactly what they will do to make the Civilian Reserve Corps worthwhile to join....

From a potential recruit's standpoint I would have to weigh the Pros and Cons of enlisting:

PROs
====
+ Surely they would pay enlistees (although the Gov't won't be able to compete with what people could earn with corporate wages)
+ You would get a sense of satisfaction serving your country
+ You would help foreign people get "back on their feet" (if you care about that kind of thing)
+ .... that's pretty much it.

CONs
====
- You would almost certainly be deployed into a Warzone
- You would be at risk (especially as a non-arab) of being a target for terrorist kidnapping / hostage taking. Many contractors and charity workers already experienced this fate.
- You would receive little, if any military training and likely not be armed. So you would be truly defenseless as a single person and would have to depend completly on the security situation around you.
- You would likely be on an open-ended tour of duty much the same as any military branch currently in service.


So I'm sure that there are more pros and cons to consider, but overall, it looks like a raw deal to me. Who in the world are they going to get as recruits? This just doesn't jive with intelligent, logical people given the current state of world affairs.

[Xavier_Spinner_Wheels]

What branch?

Air Force.

[funnyPasds]

One thing I have learned over my 40+ years is that the SOTU address is loaded with the same platitudes regardless of who is doing the speaking. "We must fix Social Security" (applause) "We must become energy independent" (applause) " we must start a new civilian reserve corps" (applause) "I need to go potty" (applause) " I did not have sexual, relations, with that woman" (applause) It's all just smoke and mirrors. Now, thankfully, we have a divided government (again) and nothing will get done. This means far less damage to our pocketbooks.

At any rate, in 6 months nobody will remember a word that "W" said about a Civilians Reserve Corps. He can then bring it up at next years' SOTU address, along with Social Security, energy independence, etc...

[ClorrerVeks]

Air Force.

Air Force, I thought you said you served in the military...

[blackjackblax]

Why would anyone want to join the Civilian Reserve Corps when they could work for a contractor and get paid 10 times as much ?

[Dfvgthyju]

Why would anyone want to join the Civilian Reserve Corps when they could work for a contractor and get paid 10 times as much ?

Exactly. It may not be 10 times as much but I agree with point. In the corporate world people can use those same valuable skills to earn much more than the CRC could hope to offer monetarily.

There is no convincing reason to join the CRC that I have seen. If someone is patriotic enough to commit themselves to it blindly, they would probably be better off joining the Conventional Army (or the National Guard... same thing right now) anyway.

[casinobonusa]

It's almost sounds like a "soft" draft to me.

[funnyPasds]

It's almost sounds like a "soft" draft to me.

then you should invest in q-tips, to clean your ears with. It 'sounds' like what it is - VOLUNTARY.

Volunteer - vol·un·teer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪər/ Pronunciation Key - [vol-uhn-teer]
–noun
1. a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.
2. a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.
3. Military. a person who enters the service voluntarily rather than through conscription or draft, esp. for special or temporary service rather than as a member of the regular or permanent army.

con·scrip·tion /kənˈskrɪpʃən/ Pronunciation[kuhn-skrip-shuhn] Pronunciation Key -–noun
1. compulsory enrollment of persons for military or naval service; draft.

[casinobonusa]

I meant a "soft" draft as in drafting free volunteers in order to avoid an all-out draft.