I was unaware that federal employees could be essentially drafted into service oversees. It appears, however, that the government ran out of "volunteers" at Redstone and "AMCOM is designating 111-jobs as emergency essential, which means the holders of those jobs, might face deployment in the next two years."
What makes this particularly interesting is that these individuals were NEVER in the military. It's unclear to me if those individuals could quit their job and avoid being deployed. If they can't then this is truelly a draft...
Are there doctors who work for the government who aren't military and thus subject to this same treatment? If so I'd suggest they start looking at private practice quickly!
Complete text of original article in extended entry:
Link:
http://www.whnt19.com/Global/story.asp?S=2687091&nav=1VPuU9T6
Civilian Workers At Redstone May Face Iraq Deployment
December 12, 2004
When you see helicopters in action in Iraq or Afghanistan, you can be sure, those helicopters are supported by civilians from Redstone Arsenal. Civilians who are on the ground, over there. The thing to remember, it's a normal situation. "Sure, if the mission requires it, any federal employee, for that matter, can be assigned to go and support any organization's mission," says Tim Grey, the Director of the Human Resource Department at Redstone's U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.
Most of the support work for the army aviation and missile systems managed at Redstone, is done on the base, but more than 150 civilian volunteers have been deployed during the past year. And now, AMCOM is designating 111-jobs as emergency essential, which means the holders of those jobs, might face deployment in the next two years. It's a concern to Don Eierman of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858. "Southwest Asia for instance, is not a traditional war zone, there is no front line where the enemy is located. There have been attacks, sporadic attacks throughout the area. There's not really a safe zone, so the jeopardy to civilian lives is much higher throughout this type of campaign," says Eierman. The Union Local President, says his members support the soldiers, but they do have concerns about deployment. Tim Grey recognizes the danger in Iraq and Afghanistan, but says great care is taken to keep civilian workers safe.
The bottom line in the modern army, the high tech equipment needs civilian support on the ground. In fact the army couldn't fight without it. "Absolutely could not. they are essential to the support of the soldier in the field, no question about it. Whether it's the work they do here, or the work they do in the field," says Grey.
In other words, don't forget the troops over there, and don't forget the civilians who keep them fighting. Some of your neighbors are in dangerous places right now, and others might someday be there.