The Peace Corps and the less peaceful Corps in Kyrgyzstan

The humanitarian impulses of the Manas Transit Center air base in Kyrgyzstan have been well documented. But now they are apparently taking the next step and cooperating directly with the Peace Corps there. From a Manas press release:

Two ...villages, Ugut Secondardy School in Ak-Talaarayon Village and Eschenkulova School in Toruaygier Village, will receive supplies thanks to their respective volunteers who sought financial help outside of traditional Peace Corp grants.

Both the U.S. Embassy and Peace Corp became aware of the Transit Center's process of asking Central Command for humanitarian assistance projects to fund earlier this year.

"We don't care where the idea comes from," said Maj. Elliot Safdie, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Humanitarian Assistance director. "Americans want to help the Kyrgyz people as much as we can - it doesn't matter if the idea originates from Embassy, Peace Corp or Transit Center. What's exciting about today's purchases is that the Transit Center will be visiting villages we've not been to before in places where the Peace Corp has already established relationships."

The total amount donated apparently comes to $14,000 worth of supplies, which I'm guessing goes a very long way in two rural Kyrgyzstan schools.

The press release notes:

The Peace Corp has been guests of Kyrgyzstan since 1993, but oddly enough, Aug. 30 was the first official partnership between the Transit Center at Manas and this U.S. government agency to help the Kyrgyz people.

I'm not sure how odd it is that the Peace Corps decided not to partner with a military base until now, given how strenuously the Peace Corps tries to separate itself from the hard power elements of U.S. foreign policy. (Not that there haven't been repeated efforts by the hard power elements to co-opt the Peace Corps.) Peace Corps programs in Central Asia seem like they are often on thin ice politically. Is an affiliation with the military base -- which could be kicked out when the new parliament comes to power -- worth $14,000?