These days the ranks of the Peace Corps are being filled by an unlikely group– those age 50 or older. They comprise over 5 percent of the Peace Corps’ 8,079 volunteers and the applications from this age group have gone up almost 40 percent this year. As more baby boomers reach retirement, they feel a draw towards service and the Peace Corps is one way in which they can share their knowledge and experience with the world. What this group of remarkable volunteers shows us is that Americans, no matter what age, have an unwavering passion to serve– to make a difference in this world. 

The U.S. Public Service Academy would give young people the opportunity to serve their country without having to worry about the usual hardships involved in financing education. Like these baby boomers who finally have the time and resources to serve, Academy graduates will be free from the stresses of student loan repayment and would be able to focus on serving this great nation of ours. Just think of how wonderful a place our world could be if citizens had the opportunity and resources to serve their entire lives. 

The Coalition for Effective Change held a panel discussion recently to mark the anniversary of the 30th anniversary of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). Unfortunately, in the eyes of the panelists, there was not much cause for celebration due not only to recent events, but the devaluing of public service and trust in government. When speaking about the mission of the CSRA, Steve Ressler, founder of the Young Government Leaders, said “The mission’s great, but we don’t sell the mission…” That mission being the one of placing great value on serving your nation because it is the right thing to do, not because the employment benefits are good. Instead of advertising great pay and health insurance, the panelists believe we need to first remove the stigma associated with public office and get back to a sort of grassroots dedication to serving the public and our nation as a whole. 

“The state of the federal service is not good,” said Paul Light, a professor of public administration at New York University. “This is not a time for tinkering. These are problems that we face … that require something bigger.” The U.S. Public Service Academy is something bigger. It can offer all that America’s public sector is in dire need of– a large number of individuals working toward a common goal with a dedication to ideals, a strong belief in service as a virtue, and willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of our nation. The U.S. Public Service Academy will do just that and more. 

The American Academy of Diplomacy has just released a report that states staff shortages in the State Department are so severe that it must increase it’s hiring by 46 percent, adding more than 4,700 jobs by 2014. The report, produced by retired ambassadors and other foreign policy experts, commented that “Significant portions of the nations foreign affairs business simply are not accomplished,” and that “The diplomatic capacity of the United States has been hollowed out.” In order to reach the levels of employment that the Academy suggests are needed to meet the workload is an increase in the budget of 21 percent. This is no easy task with our nation’s diplomatic corps already stretched thin because of our ongoing wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Thomas Boyatt, project chairman for the report and former ambassador to Colombia, commented “If one war per generation is avoided because of effective diplomacy, think of the savings it brings to the nation.” Former ambassador Boyatt has a great point– if we have more, better trained diplomats, we could better avoid dangerous tensions with our foreign counterparts and produce peaceful results that would grow out of healthy, diplomatic actions. The U.S. Public Service Academy is ready to train such a corps of diplomats. By establishing a federally-funded public service institution, America would signify it’s renewed mission of public service, graduating nearly 1,300 highly-skilled public servants. Many of these individuals will choose foreign service as their career path and this would contribute to filling the ranks of the State Department. We must not waver in our mission to establish the U.S. Public Service Academy. It is clear our nation needs the best and the brightest yesterday, today and tomorrow.