Vets for the Border Patrol

The success of last year’s Operation Desert Storm made me proud of our American leadership and ingenuity and also to be proud to be an American citizen. With the tremendous changes that have occurred this past year within the Soviet Union, we now can safely say that the “Cold War” is over and that American defense budget cuts are now appropriate. However, in the area of military personnel, we should try to compensate those who gave so much and had the courage to serve their country rather than to give them a place in the crowded unemployment lines.

This is why I urge support of Congressman Elton Gallegly’s amendment in hiring those military personnel who have been involuntarily but honorably discharged. This amendment would allow military personnel who have the appropriate skills to assist the INS Border Patrol in trying to stop the flow of over 3 million illegal aliens into the United States.

This amendment is a win for the American citizenship, this is a win in helping the Border Patrol, and this is a win for those who have served this country. This idea is one that will work, not like some ideas that suggest that a large wall or large medieval moat be built to stop the flow of illegal migration.

RICHARD SHOUP

Thousand Oaks