U.S. military overly generous in training Saudis, Mexicans

I just arrived home from San Antonio, Texas, where I attended an Air Force reunion with guys from the 603rd AC & W Squadron, Langerkoph, Germany. We had the opportunity to visit Lackland Air Force Base.

Most of us were shocked to hear from our tour guide, a U.S. Air Force sergeant, that some 6,500 Saudis are being taught English on the base by over 300 different civilians per year. These Muslims are being educated, housed and fed for the duration of their stay with taxpayer money!

The Defense Language Institute holds classes for 26 to 64 weeks. The Muslims are allowed to go outside and pray everyday. Their living accommodations are more comfortable than our recruits have when they're there for basic training.

Classes run six hours per day with U.S.-made software being used. They also have access to a library.

The chow line is color coded so the Muslins will be able to identify pork. They also have a mosque located on the base.

Lackland Air Force Base also teaches English to Mexicans, who are also housed and fed until they can pass a test qualifying them to be able to enlist in any branch of the military. For those who don't qualify, they can become U.S. citizens providing they pass the English test.

Lackland Air Force Base has better accommodations than most colleges and universities in the U.S.

The chow hall where we had lunch, open to officers and enlisted personnel, and which we had to pay for, is more elaborate than most $400,000 homes in Bradenton. Several crystal chandeliers hang in a long foyer that has paintings on the walls and very expensive carpet to walk on.

With over $19 trillion in debt, and rising every day, maybe the government should watch the purse strings.

Sam Black

Bradenton

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "U.S. military overly generous in training Saudis, Mexicans ."