California National Guard

I was very pleased to see “Weekend Warriors Make a Comeback” (Sept. 10), on the California National Guard. Most Californians know little more about the National Guard except that it leaves them a co-worker or an employee short one weekend each month. To call it a “part-time” job is a misnomer, as many of us in the National Guard must spend a considerable amount of personal time to ensure that we are as prepared for the same wartime missions as our brothers and sisters in the regular Army, who do not need to maintain separate civilian jobs.

I only take exception to your reference to the Army as a “longtime rival” of the National Guard. This is an injustice to the National Guard that serves to perpetuate the public’s notion that the National Guard is not the “real” Army. We are the U.S. Army. We have taken the same oaths to defend this country and abide by the same code of conduct as anyone else in the Army. We are not “wannabes” or second-stringers. We are an integral part of this country’s armed forces. While healthy rivalries exist in all levels of the military, we understand that we are all part of the same team.

SPEC. MARK E. PLASSMEYER

Calif. Army National Guard

Pomona