Gov. Kristi Noem Is Treating Her National Guard Like Mall Cops
MINOT, N.D. — Service in the National Guard is a proud thing.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem besmirches that pride by treating her state’s National Guard troops as something akin to mall cops. A private security force that can be rented out.
That’s the takeaway from Christopher Vondracek report on Noem’s decision to answer Texas’ call for support from other states to deal with the crisis at the southern border. As many as 50 members of the South Dakota National Guard will be deployed to the southern border, and per Noem’s office, the expense will be paid for by a “private donation.”
“A follow-up question on the reason for the private funding — and whether this suggested the mission was outside the scope of the National Guard’s role — went unanswered by the governor’s office Tuesday morning,” Vondracek reports.
The problem is not the mission. The crisis at the southern border is real. The Biden administration’s response, so far, has been incompetent when not completely addled by the fraught politics of immigration.
There’s no question that our southern border states need support.
The problem is in how Noem decided to provide it. She has rented out a contingent of the National Guard to a private entity. Someone who is unknown to the public at this point.
This is completely inappropriate.
