Peace Corps Polyglot

Measuring Peace

For the last two years, former NPCA President Chic Dambach has headed up the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), a coalition of diverse organizations working together to build sustainable peace and security worldwide.  This week, AfP collaborated with partners in releasing a second annual report on the level of peace in 140 countries around the world.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) seeks to measure peace in a nonbiased and nonpartisan way. Founded two years ago by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist, and maintained by The Economist, it uses 24 qualitative and quantitative indicators, measuring internal and external factors, to define the peace index of a country. The GPI then uses the results from this data to determine what other factors correspond with high or low levels of peace. As might be expected, countries at the top of the list have well-functioning governments, low violence, low corruption, high education levels and friendly relations with their neighbors.

What might not be expected is the GPI ranking for the United States.  Click here to learn more about the GPI for the U.S., Peace Corps countries of service and other nations around the world.

Action Opportunity: PCV Reservist Reportedly Called Back to Iraq

Throughout its history - and even now - a small number of military reservists apply and are accepted into Peace Corps programs. While rare, the possibility exists that they may be called back to active military duty while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.

That is reportedly the case with PCV Matthew McCue of New Mexico. Friends and colleagues indicate that in late October, Matthew was removed from his Peace Corps assignment in Niger - where he was working as an agriculture extension agent - and called back to active military duty in Iraq. Supporters have begun circulating an on-line petition to "call upon the Department of Defense to change its policy regarding current reserve-status Peace Corps Volunteers and bar them from being called up into active
service."

NPCA has been informed by Peace Corps that a small number of reservists do serve as PCVs, so they do have the remote possibility that they will be called to active duty.  We were told that one PCV was called to active duty in the last five years (presumably Matthew McHugh).

Two years ago, NPCA led a successful effort to remove specific references in legislation which actively promoted Peace Corps service as one option for fulfilling military obligations through a special military recruitment initiative.  Click here to learn more about the issue and how NPCA worked to achieve this important legislative victory.