I was unaware of the California Civilian Conservation Corps. I lived in Cali from 1984 to 1986, couldn't take the pollution in Sacramento. Between allergies that made my eyes bleed and smog, I was a hurtin' unit. Left the state in 1986, but there were a lot of things about Cali that I miss.

I do fine on the coast, I should have stayed :D

Thanks for reading, and I'm gonna look into the Civilian Conservation Corps.

I kind of think that the first part of national service should be as tough as military boot camp, but as you said, abbreviated. Just long enough to teach discipline, both personal and with weapons. I don't know if you saw it, but there's a follow on article for this. It covers some of what you're talking about here, but not in detail. You've given me some more directions to look!