Hitting Close To Home

Last week the Pentagon announced another “call up” of our National Guard for combat duty in Iraq along with a smaller contingent for duty in Afghanistan.

One of the units is in the heart of Northeast Philadelphia – right where I grew up.

Close by is the state of New Jersey that will lose half of their guard forces in this mobilization.

Traditionally the mission of the National Guard was to respond to emergencies here at home. And not to give anyone a history lesson, but in the 1960s and early 1970s one could ensure their avoidance of the war in Vietnam by serving in the National Guard. After all, that was the alternative route our cowardly president pursued. Now this same man who hid in the Guard during Vietnam is using our Guard men and women for multiple deployments to Iraq.

The news of this alert reminded me of a time when I was providing a security detail for a convoy to the Baghdad airport in the summer of 2003. I passed an Army fuel tanker with a sign that read “one weekend a month my ass.”

I can’t agree more.

My theory is that you should just sign up for active duty if you are going to join the military. Because now there is almost no difference between the active, reserve, and guard components. You are going to end up in Iraq regardless.

The National Guard is overextended and broken along with the rest of our Army. We are in the midst of a total national security nightmare- courtesy of George W. Bush.

This president has not once called upon Americans to serve their country. He just tells us to go shopping while he touts the all volunteer Army.

Instead of breaking our military Bush should go to each college campus and rally the “Young Republicans” to join the fight. Then Bush should go on national television and call on all the true believers of his war in Iraq to put their blood and money in the game . Finally, just for shiggles, Bush should call his goofy pal Bill Kristol and ask him to encourage Matthew Continetti to join the Army or Marine Corps. I would love to see him get a taste of the war he so ardently supports.

Last week Bush was talking about the possibility of World War III. He should take that into consideration while he continues to deplete the strength of our armed forces on his hopeless, needless, and endless war in Iraq.

Bush obviously has no regard for the lessons of Katrina and Kansas. Just think of how useful our National Guard forces could have been if they were home instead of Iraq.

Disasters and emergencies here at home only matter to Bush if it's election time in his brother's state of Florida. I think that is a pretty fair assumption judging by the scorecard. Just something to think about.

John Bruhns
Iraq Veteran

PS. For clarity - I'm fully aware that the National Guard has always been subject to activation for overseas combat duty. I just wanted to point out that throughout American history and especially during Vietnam NG units were used primarily for stateside duty. Now they are practically an active component of our armed forces.