Saturday, November 19, 2011

Does joining AmeriCorps require, or potentially require, military service?

I was reading about their service programs and I they're doing some good things I'm interested in being a part of. However the word "Corps" scared me. Is AmeriCorps at all related to military service? Nothing at all against the military, but in the words of Brandon Flowers - I got soul but I'm not a soldier.

Does joining AmeriCorps require, or potentially require, military service?
AmeriCorps has as much to do with being a soldier as the Peace Corp. It's a group that does service in the United States and works with various charities and programs to help communities.
Reply:Thank God, no!





from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corps: "A corps can also represent a group of personnel with common characteristics, training, and missions, such as volunteer, humanitarian, or social-progam organizations. Some examples are the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and the Mercy Corps."





Back in the US Depression era, a government organization somewhat similar in nature to AmeriCorps called the Civilian Conservation Corps was formed - they built a large portion of America's National Park System. When you walk down the staircase at the Grand Canyon, the staircase was built by CCC folks in the 1930's.


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