Cecil Moore wrote:

AaronJ wrote:
If as you say the "service" is that performed by the Government for the
citizens, then how does your sentence make any real sense?

Once again, from Webster's: "service - an administrative
division, as of a government". There is no service
required by the members of the Amateur Radio Service.
The "service" is a benefit that the federal government
performs for those citizens who meet the qualifications,
not vice versa.

You said (quote):
"Seems to me that a ham who is a jack-of-all-trades-
and-master-of-none would be more valuable to the
"service" than one who is ignorant of most trades
and master of one."

Paraphrasing, you say that a well rounded ham is best for the ham service.

That use of the word "service" is found often in ham text but doesn't fit either
of your definitions. The word service as used in this way is ham jargon and
refers to all hams as a group. IMO it seems to over inflate our importance. My
comment was simply that we're really just a hobby and not all that important
anymore.

That was my third attempt at trying to get that particular point across. I'll be
happy to discuss with you or anyone else our real importance as a hobby group
(or service if you prefer), but you now have the last word on the semantics...