Rangel on Deaths of New York National Guardsman in Afghanistan

Op-Ed

RANGEL ON DEATHS OF NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARDSMAN IN AFGHANISTAN

I was saddened to read this morning of the latest casualties in our War on Terror, Sgt. Andrew Seabrooks of Queens and Sgt. Anthony Mangano of Long Island. My heart and sympathies go out to the family members and loved ones of these New York State National Guardsman who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Yet what also saddens me is the fact that far too many of our National Guardsman, locally and national, are carrying the burden of our military operations abroad.

The Reserves and National Guard were never intended to be a full-time, international fighting force. They were primarily set up as our last line of defense and to help us out on the home front. Yet instead of helping communities in the aftermath of a hurricane or other national disaster, they are on the battlefield in the Middle East.

It's not their choice -- when the flag goes up, they have their orders and they serve admirably and dutifully. However, because much of our military forces stretched across the world and bogged down in an immoral and unjust war in Iraq, we now find ourselves as a country depending on men and women who despite their full-time efforts, never intended to be full-time soldiers.

It's time that we stop this unfair practice. It's time to end the war in Iraq. It's time to bring home our troops and give back our states and local communities their National Guard.

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