My recent letter to President Joe Biden prompted a number of concerns as well (The Signal, “A Blinded Vet’s Concerns,” April 5). A fellow veteran (who requested anonymity) is among those responses I received (served in the U.S. Army 793rd Military Police Battalion). Of course, all military vets are fellow vets of Rep. Mike Garcia — this veteran’s comments echo many similar sentiments expressed by our 25th District representative. With his permission, the following concerns are submitted for The Signal readers:
“Nicely written and I certainly agree with the four points of concern you mention. The situation at our southern border needs to be addressed immediately with firm action to support aggressive enforcement of already existing laws. The secretive nature of the dispersal of unvetted aliens is something that should alarm all Americans.
“The trend to ‘defund police’ and the anti-police mindsets of many of those in power in our major cities has led to an outrageous increase in violent crime. Those district attorneys who refuse to aggressively prosecute violent offenders need to be voted out immediately or sued by families of victims they failed to protect. They, the mayors, the city councils of cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore (and on and on) have allowed their once-fair cities to become garbage dumps where lawlessness prevails. This needs to be stopped with thoughtful but firm policing, with violent criminals being charged and held off of streets until they can be tried, and if guilty, sentenced to real time commensurate with their offense(s).
“The manner of our withdrawal from Afghanistan was sloppily handled and allowing sophisticated weaponry and equipment (such as night vision goggles) to fall into the hands of the Taliban was inexcusable. Leaving valuable human assets to later be captured, mistreated and murdered by the Taliban is reprehensible and could have been avoided with a more thoughtful approach to exiting the country. Giving up Bagram Air Base so early in the withdrawal was an error in military judgment that no one has yet adequately explained. As President Biden is commander-in-chief, the buck should stop with him.
As the father of two U.S. soldiers (one in reserves and one on active duty) I am deeply concerned about current trends in the military that compromise our ability to fight and win wars. I do not see the Russians, Chinese, Iranians or North Koreans spending much (any) time preparing their soldiers to deal with ‘micro aggressions,’ ‘systemic and institutional racism,’ and allowing for soldiers to work out their ‘gender identity issues’ (and certainly not paying for gender reassignment). I imagine that their militaries are focusing on what militaries should do: focusing on training that will improve their odds of being effective on the battlefield be it on land, sea, air, space, or cyber space.
“We need more effective leadership, leadership that can find commonalities that a solid majority of Americans can agree upon — not extreme left or extreme right ideologues, but people who truly love our country, its institutions, and above all, its Constitution, and are prepared to defend them against all comers.
“Thank you for your efforts to help out our president. I do not agree with many (most) of his policies, but I will continue to pray for him that God will yet touch his heart and guide him onto the right path.”
Larry Bustetter
Valencia
