Ronchetti’s border plan for Guard is a gimmick

GOP candidate Mark Ronchetti has proclaimed that, as governor, he will “dispatch the National Guard to the border.” He praises Texas Gov. Greg Abbot for his deployment of the Guard.

However, Ronchetti’s plan is one-dimensional. He provides no details. For example, he does not explain what Guard members actually will do. They cannot legally enforce immigration laws or replace Border Patrol agents. In Texas, some guard soldiers were assigned to repair fences.

Others sat in Humvees outside private ranches to “observe and report.” They were housed in windowless eighteen-wheeler trailers crammed with 36 bunk beds.

How long will they be deployed? The length of the Texas Guard’s “involuntary activation” is one year.

How much will it cost? The Texas Adjutant General requested an additional $531 million to fund the Texas Guard stationed at the border for the final three months of the fiscal year.

Ronchetti is apparently unconcerned about the disruptions that would be caused to the lives of our citizen soldiers.

These soldiers are volunteers. Our Guard has a long history of service. They knew when they enlisted that activation was always a possibility.

When our citizen soldiers are called, they will answer. However, they should not be deployed as part of a candidate’s political theater.

Mobilization would mean hardships for the soldiers and their families. It is said that “No one serves alone.”

This is because even though the soldiers’ families remain behind, they also serve in their own way. Stress and worry are constant companions. They know that no deployment is risk free. Six Texas soldiers have died from suicides and accidents so far.

In addition, families and loved ones of soldiers must often take on many of the tasks and challenges at home – being the sole parent, taking care of finances, handling the everyday responsibilities of running the home — just to name a few. Guard deployment has been associated with financial problems, behavioral problems in children, a higher risk of divorce and other difficulties.

Employment issues are especially troublesome. During the soldiers’ absence, many jobs, especially in small towns, like police officers, nurses, teachers, construction workers, etc. must be filled with replacements.

The work they perform cannot be left undone. When the soldiers return home, a federal law provides that employers must reinstate most of them to the positions they left. How can employers handle that issue? What happens to the replacement employees? Will our soldiers be able to find work after their return?

The soldiers in the New Mexico Guard have proved repeatedly they are ready to serve and sacrifice on our behalf. We should remember the example of the 1,800-plus New Mexico National Guard members who fought in the Battle of Bataan. Only half returned home.

To treat the Guard members with the respect they deserve, they should be activated only when a crisis or emergency justifies their deployment. When Mark Ronchetti uses the Guard as a campaign gimmick, he disrespects our soldiers and their families.