The National Guard is being stretched way beyond limits. It is going to be very difficult to continue to staff our National Guard units when current policy utilizes them as if they were full time units. The National Guard is one of our great national resources; but it is staffed with civilians. And instead of utilizing it along our border they are being deployed and re-deployed overseas.
Isn't part of that due to the fact that the NG does things that the regular army no longer does? Isn't it due to the downsizing under the toon?
You are right about the National Guard. I have a very good friend at work (One of the few Conservatives with me here in San Francisco) and he has had two long deployments in Kosovo and Iraq. It has been tough on his family, and his career (although the company has stuck by him). He is an interrogator and speaks Farsi, and a great patriot. But his wife is pressuring him to retire when he becomes eligible in a few months. I hate to see the National Guard losing good men like him!