Illegal immigration, military service are bad combination

I recently saw on the news one of our representatives wants to create a path to bringing illegal immigrants into our military. At first glance, this sounds like a reasonable solution to the shortcuts in our recruitment.

During the Vietnam War, I was one of the 400,000 that President John F. Kennedy signed onto, drafting us. I was one of the lucky ones and for some reason selected to be a drill instructor at Fort Ord, Calif. I soon discovered many of the trainees were from another country, many either spoke broken English or couldn’t speak English at all. But it was a different time, and those migrants came into the country legally and simply wanted a fast track to citizenship.

Fast, forward to the current flood of illegal immigrants, a different time, and we see all the time on the news thousands entering who are of military age, with no wife or children accompanying them. There have been news reports of some sighted at rifle ranges target shooting, a known fact many are criminals and gang members, and in general the United States government doesn’t know anything about them. 

For the military, it would be a total nightmare. They wouldn’t know if they’re training criminals, gang members or members of another country’s military. Giving them access to all types of weapons and worst of all the deterioration of our military. 

Can you imagine going into combat wondering if the man next to you is really fighting for the other side?

ELLIOTT GOULD

Hope