to corps or not to corps

That is the question.
To suffer the salutes and stupid uniforms of a ridiculous antiquated institution
or to suffer the through the equally ridiculous bureaucracy of regular civil service.

To continue from my last post...

Why the heck am *I* in the corps...

Well, here goes.

1) Is there a moral difference between serving the federal government as a civil service employee or serving as a corps employee? Some would argue yes, some no. In both cases, you are an employee of a hierarchical government institution. In both cases, our dear W is your ultimate boss. In both cases, you work for a government which sticks its nose in all over the world and enjoys oppressing people. So that one is kind of a wash.

2) What about being associated with the military? Well, the corps isn't military, but if you're asking whether I have an issue with the idea of health and public health being associated with a military-type institution, yes I do. This is the biggest thing I have a problem with. We are a organization committed to protecting people's health, not shooting them. Therefore, we shouldn't even be associated with anything remotely militaristic. On the other hand, public health practitioners are all committed to protecting health, and almost all of us are associated with government institutions, which are the institutions that decide who the military is going to shoot at. So is there really a difference? Do people in regular civil service just make themselves feel better 'cause they're two degrees of separation from the people actually wielding the weapons? It seems to me that if you're willing to work for government in any form, you need to be aware of the fact that you are working for an institution that employs force and the threat of force in many forms (military, police, courts, taxation, etc.). Hiding behind the civil service-facade does not change that fact. So I guess the problem I really have is working for government in any form.

(From "And the Band Played On..." a scene between two CDC epidemiologists investigating the early stages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

"If you hate it so much, why have you spent your entire career working for the government?"
"You know what Willie Sutton said when they asked him why he robbed banks?
'That's where the money is.'
This is where the diseases are.
Bugs. Bugs. Bugs.")

3) What about the goals of the corps compared to the goals of civil service? Well, one of the major goals of the corps is to be a rapidly deployable force of health professionals who are able to respond to health crises and disasters. Personally, I think that's a great idea. We should have a cadre of health professionals who are able/willing to go into disaster areas to provide health and public health services. I would much prefer the corps does it than we rely on military health professionals. (E.g. The corps was one of the major sources of health resources during the Katrina response. Some are still in New Orleans.)

4) So if being corps isn't any different from being civil service morally, why be corps?
Basically, there are a bunch of benefits to going the corps route. More vacation, better pay, easier retirement system. Oh, and I feel like I'm dressing up for Halloween every time I put my uniform on. (Trick or treat!)

5) Do you worry about being sent to Iraq or another area of conflict? Well, yes, but if there were an outbreak and epidemiologists were needed, I would go whether I was corps or civil service. Look, we go into places like Zaire, Angola, Pakistan after the earthquake, and Indonesia after the tsunami whether we're corps or civil service. That's part of what epidemiologists and public health practitioners do.

6) What about the uniform and saluting and stuff? Like I said, the corps, despite having official policies about this stuff, doesn't really adhere to it. Most of my friends and colleagues in public health outrank me (by several grades). I've been around them in uniform and I don't think I've saluted them once. I wear my uniform about once every six months. As for being ordered around, it doesn't really happen. Could that change? Well, yes, but given the composition of corps, it's rather unlikely. (The has been substantial talk recently about making the corps more "military-like." However, despite all the talk about wanting to make uniform wear mandatory and all sorts of other stuff, when DHHS actually announced what was going to happen, all that stuff disappeared. What they are very aware of is that most people in the corps tolerate the BS, but that's it. If they were to make it worse, most would leave and switch to civil service.)

Anyway, those are some of the more common questions I've gotten about why I'm in the corps. I happy to answer others (just leave them in a "comment.") In the meantime, be reassured that my politics have not changed and I haven't started voting Republican. (and if I ever do, someone please shoot me.)

Love all,
J