OPINION:
As a veteran I have been embarrassed by the slovenly conduct of the National Guard in the Capitol these past few days. They’ve reportedly been lying around on the floor, not bothering to stand up when a senator enters the room and sleeping on the floor of the Rotunda. I am a one-time missile battery commander and I am appalled and angered at this behavior.
Who is in charge of these slobs, going along in their fat, dumb, happy ways, eating pizza like they are on some kind of picnic? Where are their sergeants? Where are their captains? Why aren’t they outside drilling or marching or practicing first aid? Why aren’t they practicing with their gas masks for hours? Why aren’t they doing mass-casualty drills or setting up their up their own tents so they can sleep on their own cots? Why aren’t they checking and double checking their equipment? Is it because they aren’t really expecting an attack from a thousand armed rebels?
Maybe they understand that they are just a bunch of political pawns being used by the same people who put on sham impeachments in an effort to convince the American people to forget all the good that was done by our outgoing president. Unfortunately for these thousands of uniformed guardsmen, meticulously following their orders to mill around, their lack of real purpose at the Capitol is on full display. They have no mission, no morale, no esprit de corps and no pride. The National Guard, whose members have served our country sacrificially and heroically in times past, deserves far better treatment than this.
CAPT. JAMES W. FRENCH
U.S. Air Force (retired)
Dakota, Ill.
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