Last week, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” broadcast his show from Baghdad, Iraq in conjunction with the USO.  I am a faithful viewer of “The Daily Show” and love Mr. Colbert, but I have to admit, his show is not in my DVR queue.  I sneak a segment online here and there.  However, upon hearing about his head being shaved on stage by General Odierno and knowing all about his consistent support of the troops, I set the record button for all four shows.  He was hysterical, the troops impressive, and through his goofy exploits, was brilliant at informing all of us back home that there is still a war going on where over 130,000 Americans are representing and protecting us.

I started to think about military service and how the word sacrifice cannot even begin to capture the depth of commitment enlisted men and women and officers make for people they don’t even know.  I’d venture to guess that many of them don’t even grasp the weight of their decision when they enlist, or join the Reserve or pursue the goal of getting into one of the military academies.  And yet, there they find themselves, thousands of miles away in harm’s way, and with a country at home that largely doesn’t know or understand what is going on for them.

In one of the coolest moments of the Colbert Report’s shows, Colbert was joined on stage by Command Sargent Major Frank Grippe, the highest enlisted man in the Army and an imposing one at that!  Colbert asked him to command the troops to “put their right hand in” and of course Grippe was on to Colbert and his hokey-pokey shenanigans in about two seconds.  Instead, he lead them in the Army fight song, which they all sang loud and proud and yes, I totally teared up.

It was at this moment that I realized what some people may not be getting about the importance of our desire to create a US Public Service Academy and it is the culture of service that can only be fostered in a campus atmosphere.  Seeing the troops all together, knowing they had all endured the same kind of basic training, the same types of discipline that fosters respect for themselves and the mission, seeing their focus on Cmd Sgt Major Grippe, I knew in that moment how critical it is to have a campus dedicated to the training of civil service leaders.  No amount of scattered scholarship programs across random public policy schools can replace the culture and commitment that an Academy will foster and we only need look at our Armed Forces to see the success we have created there.  So put your right hand in, and give thumbs up to the USPSA!

It is time to offer this opportunity to our young leaders, and to do it from the top down.  Please email your Representative and Senators NOW and tell them to support and pass the US Public Service Academy Act THIS YEAR.  Links are on our home page!

From the campaign trail in Colorado Springs, CO, Senator Barack Obama is calling on Americans to become active public servants during what he hopes to be an Obama Administration.  We here at the Academy are thrilled that Obama is showing the leadership necessary to inspire, promote and demand public service.  However, what the country also needs are trained civilian leaders to organize, manage, and direct these civil servants and volunteers in areas of need like education, emergency management, foreign service, and all manner of local, state and federal government administration.  And that is just what the US Public Service Academy will provide!

The blogosphere is lighting up in conversation today about Obama’s main talking points which are:

• Encourage national service to address the great challenges of our time, including combating climate change, extending health care, improving our schools and strengthening America overseas by showing the world the best of our nation.
• Expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and double the size of the Peace Corps.
• Integrate service-learning into our schools and universities to enable students to graduate college with as many as 17 weeks of service experience under their belts.
• Provide new service opportunities for working Americans and retirees.
• Expand service initiatives that engage disadvantaged young people and advance their education.
• Expand the capacity of nonprofits to innovate and expand successful programs across the country.
• Enable more Americans to serve in the armed forces.

It seems to this former teacher that these ideas are excellent, but somewhat broad and a bit vague.  How can we pull it off?  With trained civilian leadership, that is how, and that is what the Academy will provide.  It is time to support the Academy Senator Obama!

Paul C. Light, the author of “A Government Ill Executed” and a professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post today pointing out the problems facing the public sector workforce, namely retirement, poor organization, redundancy, low-pay, poor morale… the list seemed to go on and on.  Mr. Light specifically points out that new government employees (many will be recent college grads),  “understandably wonder whether government service would give them a chance to make a difference and acquire the skills they need in an unforgiving economy.”  (Harvard grads were featured earlier this week contemplating how to put their excellent educations to work in public service, while rejecting the pull of hefty paychecks.)  Mr. Light also reminds us of “the the glory days of the 1960s and ’70s, when the call to service was bright.”

Most notably however, was the shout out he gave to Senators John McCain and Barack Obama “to strike a legislative deal to start repairing government.”  Well, we can help them with that: the best legislative deal going is S. 960, the bill to create the US Public Service Academy, the first national public college devoted to developing civilian leaders. The Public Service Academy will be a federally-subsidized four-year college modeled on the military service academies. More than 5,000 students will get an intensive undergraduate education focused on service and leadership development. Following graduation, they will be required to serve for five years in education, health care, emergency management, or other public service fields at the local, state, and national levels.