Celsius

On May 20, 1997, Esequiel Hernandez, Jr. (pictured left) was herding his family's goats 100 yards from his home on the US-Mexican border in Redford, Texas, as he did every day. Six days before, he had turned 18 years old.

Unknown to Esequiel or any of the other residents of Redford, a group of four Marines led by 22-year old Corporal Clemente Banuelos had been encamped just outside the small village along the Rio Grande River for three days. After watering his small flock of goats in the river, Esequiel started on his way back home when the Marines began stalking him from a distance of 200 yards.

The story about this civilian, killed by Marines, in 1997 can be read here:
http://www.dpft.org/hernandez/gallery/

Do you think the National Guard could help guard the US-Mexico border without screwing up like these Marines did in '97?

BigDavyG

The US military aren't fit for much to be honest, but they are the only option the US has.

scrubbedexpat099

1. They will not have their guns with them.

2. They are not guarding the borders.

2 week holiday and a polical show.

anotherlimey

I agree; watch them get "re-assigned" after a few months.

fatbrit

Disagree, I'm afraid. I think the US military are formidable. Just look at how they took Iraq in a week or sorted out the New Orleans mess. However, they aren't very good at understanding how the civilian world works and are provably inept at nation building or peace-keeping operations that require tact and cultural awareness.

gruffbrown

The way I heard it was, it will be National Guard units doing their two week training camps on a rotating basis.

Celsius

Bingo! Military trained personnel aren't familiar or adept at handling civilian situations so there's a great risk that they may overreact or misinterpret interactions with civilians with dire consequences.

Rompers

To be fair, the link you posted was from 1997. The US military has had to do a fair bit of nation building and inter-acting with civilians since then.

Celsius

I for one do not want to see history repeating itself with civilians getting killed when the US military take on unfamiliar roles.

Also, civilian Iraqis are unlikely to think much of the US military's "nation building" since the removal of Saddam Hussein.

scrubbedexpat099

But you raised the issue in connection with the Border.

gruffbrown

Shouldn't we differentiate between Federal troops and National Guard?
I thought there were Constitutional issues with Federal troops and the civilian population, although in this case I'd assume it will be mainly Foreign Nationals they're dealing with?

blaze

You realize that you are going to get a lot of angry military spouses going for your jugular after that comment Davy.

blaze

Oh, and I was in the US military myself and hell yes I was a damn good soldier thank you very much!

Rompers

You should change your avatar to Private Benjamin

Celsius

or Hotlips!