Florida doesn’t need a combat-ready state guard | Letters to the editor

Kudos to reporters Ana Ceballos and Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times for their article “State Guard Partners with combat-training company (Stronghold),” which under Gov. DeSantis’ control is to recruit and train members for a civilian military force.

But to do what?

As the article reported, Stronghold specializes in combat training and lists as one of its instructors a former Navy SEAL accused of war crimes. Floridians are footing up to $1.2 million to recruit members of a World War II-era force that DeSantis revived last year.

We already have the National Guard, a state-based military force and part of the reserve components of the Army and Air Force when activated on federal missions. It’s a military reserve force, composed of National Guard military members or units of each state and the territories of Guam, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and District of Columbia.

National Guard members also belong to the organized militia of the U.S. as defined by Title X of the U.S. Code. National Guard units are under dual control of state and federal governments. Before one joins the National Guard, a set of standardized tests called the ASVAB — Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery — are administered to determine applicants’ strengths.

The test measures knowledge in nine specific areas, as opposed to the veterans who went through Stronghold’s first class, who told the Herald-Times that “their instructors were incompetent and the training slapdash.”

Florida does not need another emergency response team under the control of DeSantis to respond to emergencies. We have the National Guard to defend Florida, and the United States of America.

Evalyn Katz, Boynton Beach

The beauty of murals

Thank you so much for the article on Sunday, Nov. 26, about Max Sansing, the Chicago mural artist.

We’re extremely fortunate to have beautiful, captivating murals in our neighborhoods. It was thrilling to get a glimpse into what it takes to complete something spectacular, with intricate painter’s tape cross-hatched on the wall.

So what a shame that in that same edition, an example of local street art by Marco Cochrane was not fully seen in the one photo provided of his “R-Evolution” exhibit on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

The description is intriguing, but the photo (shown from the waist up) didn’t enhance the description. She’s 45 feet tall and all we saw was her head? Is that because she was “nekkid” and we can’t handle that in our newspaper?

So much in this area is marketed to the extremely rich. That’s not me, so I want to learn more about murals I can see anytime, by merely wandering.

Teresa Freeman, Hollywood

End the death and destruction

Sun Sentinel reader Seymour Brotman of Delray Beach writes eloquently in justifying Israel’s response to its invasion by Hamas, but I believe he focuses on the wrong issue.

The basis for his opinion, tacitly justifying Israel’s response, is Hamas’ use of its own people as human shields. What should he expect? The invasion of Israel by Hamas and slaughter of over 1,000 Israelis is hard in its horror to comprehend. It lasted for one day, at most two, and there was little recorded evidence to see. But Israel’s retaliation, even assuming it is justified, of which I am frankly uncertain, played out day after day, with endless pictures in the media of the death of Gaza citizens and the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure in a society already overcrowded and extremely poor.

How else could any fair-minded person react to the daily, repetitive nature of the destruction caused by the IDF, irrespective of its cause? I am an American Jew, too, and while I feel the pain of Israeli citizens caused by the invasion, I realized that as Israel’s response played out in the world’s media, day after day, it could only result in massive worldwide sympathy for the plight of Palestinian civilians caught in the fighting.

Thank goodness there is finally a pause, an exchange involving at least some hostages, and needed aid coming to Gaza. Rather than blame either side, the issue should be how to finally end the death and destruction this war has caused.

Michael Peskoe, Fort Lauderdale

On legalizing recreational pot

With a statewide campaign now underway to legalize recreational marijuana, what’s next? Recreational cocaine? Heroin? Crystal meth?  All of these drugs, used habitually over a long time, are known to lead to mental and physical decline.

Good luck, America!

Erik H. Schot, Ph.D., Lauderdale-By-The-Sea