Return to Article: Thousands of volunteer feds staff Katrina relief effort
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The accountant who refers to the misnomer of volunteers, is confused.
To volunteer for a task and to receive compensation for a task are two separate issues. Several Corps of Engineer Civil Service employees from our office volunteered to help respond to Katrina, in the course of their volunteer duty they slept in their own cars (no electricity, or running water) for the first weeks and later moved into a barge, lived off of MREs while helping to restore devastated communities. While necessary and essential, not exactly a lucrative assignment.
After all, no one really expects our all volunteer military to perform duty in Iraq for free.
The only country that I recall where employees voluntered for free was the Soviet Union, in this period the grateful employees would volunteer to work for free on weekends at state factories to show their dedication to their unique form of government.
What is the point that the accountant is trying to make?
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13292
It's sort of a misnomer to call the federal employees working on relief efforts "volunteers." They are still getting their federal salaries, plus travel per diem.
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I was one of the lucky ones who volunteered and was deployed. I participated in the training in Orlando and worked in setting up a few DRC's in Mississippi. I found it an amazing experience that renewed my faith in my employer and hope that this will be the first step in a future disaster force that will be called upon again and again.
Although I was taken from my everyday comfort level and challenged professionally and personally for 30 days, I would do it again in a heartbeat. To me it would only make sense that the individuals who were trained and gained some experience through this disaster would be the first to assist the next time it is needed (but this is the federal government).
It would be great to see them truly look at all the expense that went into the transporting, housing and training of us as an investment in the future of the organization and its ability to improve with each disaster.
We were a group that wanted to be there and I think when it is all said and done that will add to the positive band-aide FEMA so badly needs today. We were the "warm and fuzzy" faces that went out in spite of the animosity the general public had developed over the initial stages of the effort. Let's hope this continues.
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