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Editor, Index-Tribune:
I am writing this because of my concerns about the violence that is going on in the cities and towns all over the United States. The president says something has to be done. They may not be feasible, but I would like to offer my solutions.
First, I would start by bringing home most, if not all, of our troops. The use of soldiers for my suggestions would keep them off the unemployment roles and they could accomplish things that would be financially impossible if you had to hire from the private sector.
Every school in the U.S. would have two or three soldiers on duty. Just their presence should keep away any assassins and make parents feel at ease.
I would establish a hot line like 9-1-1 for families or students to call for help or advice if they have any suspicions.
You hear every day about the violence on our streets. The army has the military police. They could be trained for special law enforcement to work with the local police departments. The army vehicles and equipment could be used for patrolling the city streets at night in areas of high crime rates.
Something has to be done.
Fred Cuneo
Sonoma
Please note: Your full name will be published with your comment.
The The Posse Comitatus Act is the United States federal law that was passed on June 18, 1878 (following Reconstruction) specifically prohibits the use of federal troops to enforce laws.
Several proposals to use the military to patrol the border with Mexico have failed due to the Posse Comitatus Act. The national political will is not there to change the law due to the precedent it could set.
The National Guard could be an alternative but that would put a very large strain on communities, National Guard members and their families. The potentially most difficult problem would be the effects on children seeing someone they know from their community in a military uniform carrying a rifle in their school.
The National Guard's mission is combat in time of need for national defense. Secondarily extreme emergency and disaster relief personnel. As school guards it would significantly reduce the National Guard's effectiveness in these missions. The guard is also at the command of the governor of each state. In my opinion I doubt the majority of governors would authorize the use of their state's guardsmen to patrol schools.
Today the National Guard serves a very different role than we think of historically. Due to the very high cost of maintaining a very large military manpower force the military has shifted over the last 15-20 year to two part military. A professional all volunteer military and much more reliance on the National Guard to supplemental this volunteer force. The dramatic evidence of this lies in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars which have seen national guard troops serving 1, 2, 3 or more tours off duty in these wars. Most important our military, all of our military, deserves a rest from 10+ years of combat. There are other solutions than militarizing our schools.
As for violence in our towns and cities. According to the US Dept of Justice FBI reports total violent crime in the US has been declining since 1973. A rise in crime rates is a myth.
The mass murder at Fort Hood is an indication that soldiers are at just as much risk to being victimized by the same bad policies and laws as the general population.
In that shooting like so many others, an armed man had full lethal authority in an unarmed soft target area.