wait, what does that mean...

So, I went down to the Park Service headquarters today to fill out my paper work. The first thing I had to do was take an oath of office, essentially. It's similar in parts to the citizenship oath, but not quite as long. "I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God." There was no Bible (which is good, because there's not much sense in having someone who doesn't believe that God writes books swear on a Bible), but I did have to raise my right hand. And I think that that bit about "so help me God" should be taken out, because while I don't have a personal issue with it, I don't think that it should be part of a government oath. And I didn't get to read it first, so having to swear an oath when you're not sure what the next sentance says is a little scary. Anyway, I did that, and had to sign some affadavits about not working to overthrow the government or somesuch while they employ me (apparently it's fine once I'm not a federal employee), and that I didn't pay anyone to get this job. What I think is interesting is how you're first duty is to support and defend the Constitution, which could be loosely interpreted. I mean, I'm just going to be giving tours, but if I were given an order that violated the Constitution, wouldn't that mean that my oath required me not to follow instructions, since I'm sworn to protect the Constitution? And if I were in the Archives, and someone threatened the document itself, would I have to risk my life to defend it? (ok, that last one's a silly question, because it's not the piece of paper, it's the words themselves that matter)
I also of course had to fill out a gazillion forms about taxes and direct deposit and request for identification, etc, etc and so forth and so on. I don't have my uniform yet, but I should be getting one soon. I am, however, now in possesion of the ethics guide, the contract between the union and the government, and the leave and uniform policies. The uniform policy actually uses the words esprit de corps, which I think is hilarious. When I do get my uniform, I promise I'll post pictures, since I know you're all dying to see me in the green and gray, esp. if I have to wear the hat.
Anyway, tomorrow is my first day, and I have to be there at 8:30 in the morning. That's very early considering all my classes start at 11 AM.