FederalDaily - March 26, 2007
Army Opens Recruiting Bonus to Army Civilians
The Army now is offering Army civilian workers the chance to cash in on the service’s $2,000
recruiting-referral bonus, military officials said. The expanded program went into effect March 15.
The prior program extended the offer only to soldiers and Army retirees. The incentive pays $2,000
for referring applicants who enlist in the Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard; complete basic
training and graduate advanced individual training. The recruit must have no previous armed forces
service and can’t be an immediate family member of the person doing the referring. Also, the
Army civilian doing the referring may not be serving in a recruiting or retention assignment, said
Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, Army deputy chief of staff G-1. There are 240,000 civilians serving in the
Army, he said. “This will not only encourage them but also reward them for their service,” Rochelle
said. Prior to the new recruit’s first meeting with a recruiter, the referral must be made by
the Army civilian at https://www.usarec.army.mil/smart,
or for Army National Guard recruits, at www.1800goguard.com/esar.
To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2007/03/16/2292-2000-army-recruiting-referral-bonus-expanded-to-army-civilians
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AFGE Blasts BOP Consolidation Plan
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) was sharply critical of a new federal Bureau
of Prisons (BOP) consolidation plan which the union says does not address critical staffing shortages.
AFGE said it was concerned that flexibility in the plan will allow BOP to redefine multiple facilities
as one single BOP unit and combine the staffing to claim a work force increase. Such a maneuver would
only further confuse research into BOP staffing and attempts to correct it, said Bryan Lowry, president
of AFGE’s Council of Prison Locals. “This concept of ‘doing more with less’ is
destroying the sanctity of our security within the BOP,” said Lowry on March 22. “We can
no longer sit back and remain idle while our staffing levels continue to drop and our inmate levels
rise.” To see more, go to: www.afge.org
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Students Could Earn College Tuition for Public Service
A coalition of lawmakers introduced legislation March 22 calling for the creation of a national public
service academy that would offer a free college education to young people who agree to five years of
public service. Modeled after the military service academies, the Public Service Academy would provide
a four-year, federally-subsidized college education for more than 5,000 students a year in exchange
for a five-year commitment to public service following graduation. Graduates would earn a four-year
bachelors of arts or bachelors of science degree. The bill proposes a mandatory junior year abroad
and summer learning programs focusing on emergency response or military training. The academy would
prepare graduates for public service positions in fields including education, the environment, health
care, foreign policy and law enforcement. “We face big challenges as a nation that will
require an active leadership and citizenry,” said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Co-sponsors include
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Reps. James Moran, D-Va., and Chris Shays, R-Conn. To see more, go to: http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=271157&&;
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