This is an extreme measure that basically says, "We cannot sustain our armed forces with our own citizenry." My my opinion, there are many interim steps that need to be hit before we open our ranks to recruitment of foreigners. Here are a few of them as examples:
1) full mobilization of the Guard and reserves.
2) reinstatement of a partial/full draft
3) use of the IRR and retired reserve to a larger extent for targeted shortages in critical MOS's.
4) Streamline the process for reserve Soldiers who want to augment into active duty.
I'm sick and tired of a war where the government keeps saying, We're at war," but a fraction of a minority are doing the fighting and dying. This is the fourth Christmas since 9-11 and it sickens me to see the malls filled to the bursting point with people who could care less that Americans are in a war.
If this is the "struggle of our time" we need to stop using it as an advertisement and make it reality. Our government is framing this as a fight against good and evil, not some small war on the periphery.
I realize that foreigners have performed valuable service to the US. But these service members served in wars where the draft was in effect, as during the Vietnam War, and in the Civil War and the World Wars, where the entire nation was mobilized.
The bigger question is, "Who is supposed to pay the price for our wars?" My answer is "Americans."
