Ron, Not to continue beating a dead horse here. But the military today is not the military I knew while flying in Viet Nam, and many other older vets share my misgivings.
Today's armed forces, particularly the National Guard, are totally volunteer. Some volunteer out of patriotism, but I submit many volunteer purely for the money and benefits. Ten years after resigning my regular commission in 1971, I joined the California Air and subsequently Army Guard for about 9 years in communications. I departed because I deemed my colleagues incompetent and not people I would put my life on the line for. The last unit, Army Guard, has since been disbanded. In each of the two National Guard cases the equipment was severely outdated, and the participants were lazy.
Now you couple this rag tag crowd and their Ryder transportation units with a thoroughly incompetent commander-in-chief, and you have a mess.
Many Americans do not believe the government is benign, rather that martial law, weapon and gold confiscation kind of go hand in hand.
Ron, using the Guard to help keep the infrastructure together in times of natural disaster is entirely appropriate. But I take issue with nationalizing these disparate state units under the hand of a president whom I consider egocentric and powermad.
Bill Peavey
My point here, is not to publicize my background, |
