National Guard Recruiting Ads are Disingenuous

The National Guard is misleading the public due to omissions from its recruiting ads. Recently I heard an ad on National Public Radio suggesting that someone should join the Guard to help fight wild land fires. No mention was made of traditional “military” duties such as the need to carry weapons or to be deployed to places like Iraq or Afghanistan. In general, I believe that the Guard is too often being depicted as a helpful rescue operation or a job training program when, in reality, the military, of which the National Guard is a part, exists mostly to kill people and break things when they are called upon to serve. This is their primary role and it is dangerously incompatible with the advertised role to rescue people and fix things.