As a veteran of the United States Navy, and an active member of the American Legion, my dedication to the men and women in uniform is unyielding. The current service member is highly skilled, highly trained and highly ignored by this administration. The American people were duped into an ill-conceived war under false pretenses and the administration continues to over utilize a national guard system which was never intended to be used for sustained combat missions. Congress must insist that an exit strategy be planned and implemented immediately.

By the Bush Administration's own account, the nation will be forced to reinstate the draft system again should we continue to over-tax our National Guard with sustained combat. I am not a supporter of reinstating the draft for as history clearly shows us, the draft is merely for those of us who are not wealthy enough to buy our way out of active duty. We must not allow this ill-planned and ill-executed war to continue to destroy the brave men and women in our armed forces while simultaneously placing our nation at a heightened risk with a limited national guard.