This misuse has been building for decades under leaders of both parties. But politicizing the National Guard in this way is uniquely dangerous: it erodes trust, weakens readiness, and pulls citizen-soldiers away from the real emergencies only they can handle.

Today, troops are being sent to Los Angeles for immigration enforcement and to Washington, D.C. for an imagined crime crisis, with other cities (Chicago?) likely to follow.

In 2006, my first Guard activation came after a snowstorm knocked out power to 300,000 homes in New York. We cleared streets so utilities could restore power. That’s what the National Guard is meant to do.

For years, groups like Evacuate Our Allies and AfghanEvac worked hard to get politicians to honor our promise to the Afghan people. Republicans and Democrats alike have failed in their own way. But using the same military bases from the evacuation to now remove migrants is a special kind of betryal.