Letter to the Editor: National Guard isn’t law enforcement

President Trump’s use of the National Guard as a political tool is a betrayal of the men and women who swore to defend this nation. Guardsmen and women did not sign up to police their neighbors, bag trash in Washington, or serve as props in a President’s photo op. They signed up to fight our wars abroad and to help their communities recover from floods, fires and hurricanes at home. Anything less dishonors their service and erodes the trust they and their families place in our leaders.

The waste of taxpayer dollars is obscene. As Retired Major General William Enyart testified to Congress on Sept. 30, deploying 4,000 Guardsmen in Los Angeles for just 60 days cost $120 million. That money could have been spent hiring real police officers, trained to build long-term safety in our communities. Instead, it was squandered on a stop-gap show of force that left the Guard less ready to respond when the next disaster strikes.

The danger is not hypothetical. The Guard is not trained to perform arrests or act as law enforcement. Placing them in that role risks tragedy — just as we saw at Kent State, where untrained soldiers facing civilian protest ended in bloodshed. As General Enyart warned, we are one trigger pull away from repeating that shameful history.

This reckless misuse of our troops is an insult to their honor and to the Constitution itself. Congress must act to stop it. Our Guard volunteers are not pawns in a political game. They deserve respect, not exploitation.

George Jones

Lamoni