“While regular military sinks boats, the Guard takes risks”; CR Gazette 12-27-25.
The U.S. continued the military draft after WWII. That worked well and we had
enough people in the military to fight the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Although the Guard
is a six year hitch instead of the two year hitch in the regular military, the Iowa National
Guard was a good fit for many Iowans especially those with a seasonal job such as school
teachers.
During the 1960’s as the protests grew and questions about the Vietnam War
increased, the Iowa National Guard also functioned as a way of fulfilling one’s national
duty, without worrying about being killed in Vietnam.
That changed when President Nixon got rid of the draft and went to an all
voluntary military. Because the military services began having problems recruiting
enough people to fully man the military services, the Federal Government began
federalizing state National Guards to do what previously had been done exclusively by
the regular military. State National Guards became places that were no longer safe from
war because they were being used in regular wars and you could be killed.
It seems illogical and stupid to have a huge regular military force, trained in
warfare, in the Caribbean shooting up small boats killing people while some Iowa
National Guard members are in the most dangerous part of Syria, an area that isn’t even
controlled by Syria’s most recent strong man, and is an area where ISIS roams.
The Commander in Chief of State National Guards is that state’s governor. That
would be Governor Kim Reynolds in Iowa.
You might think that as the Commander in Chief, our governor would at least be
looking out for the welfare of our National Guard members and be asking why our state’s
National Guard is operating in one of the most dangerous areas of the Middle East, while
the actual Federal military is blowing up little boats in the Caribbean.
As someone who had two different Battalion Commanders while fighting in
Vietnam, it seems to me that Governor Reynolds is not paying enough attention to how
and where the Iowa National Guard is being used, and not protecting our Guard troops
from unusually dangerous, ridiculous, and illogical postings.
It seems to me that Governor Reynolds is more concerned with her culture wars
nowadays, most recently at the University of Iowa, than she is in understanding what
danger the Iowa National Guard members, who are under her command, have been put
in. To me, as a former combat Marine, that seems pretty close to dereliction of duty.
Bob Watson
Decorah