Recently, Democratic Party National Chairman Terry McAuliffe has attempted to discredit the military service of President George W. Bush. He made the statement that the National Guard is not a military service and implied that the Guard would give an honorable discharge to someone who did not complete their military service.

I served 26 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army Reserves, and 15 years as an officer and enlisted man in the North Dakota Army National Guard. I believe McAuliffe's comments were an insult to the men and women who have served or are serving in the Army or Air National Guard. In my 15 years of service, I personally knew two of our soldiers killed in action in Iraq.

I dare anyone to tell the members of our state's 164th Infantry Battalion on Guadalcanal as they fought with the 1st Marine Division in the first offensive operation against the Japanese that they were not a military service. The same goes for all National Guard units deployed in every conflict since Korea and the more than 1,000 North Dakota Guard members either serving in Iraq or mobilized to go over there.

Let McAuliffe tell the families, friends and employers of the North Dakota National Guard that it is not a military service. Tell the pilots and crewmen of the North Dakota Air Guard, who scrambled over Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001, that they are not a military service.

The Democratic Party and its elected officials and leaders should get their facts straight before they slander any military organization and our president. If McAuliffe would lead us to believe the National Guard is not a military service, what else would he like us to believe?

I treasure my National Guard discharge as much as I do my Marine Corps discharge and know that many others feel the same.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry's service is impressive. What is not impressive are his plans, legislation and votes. Since 1972, Kerry has advocated for policies that would cut defense and intelligence programs and weaken our national security.

Please remember and pray for all of the service men and women in Iraq and also for those they left behind.