When John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate last Friday, he emphasized her role as the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard as a reason why she was his choice. Then throughout the week as questions were raised about Palin's lack of experience in national and international affairs, the McCain campaign pointed again to her military command experience as governor.
Some reporters have even tried to follow up on this point. One such reporter was Campbell Brown on CNN, when she asked "Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard?" This was a legitimate question by Campbell Brown, asked while interviewing McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds. "Just one?" she followed up when he tried to argue she was denigrating Governor Palin. His answers were rediculous, and he looked stupid, and John McCain threw a tempertantrum afterwords.
That Tucker Bounds couldn't give a real answer was because Sarah Palin has never personally ordered her state's National
Guard to do anything.
First Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard has stated the governor has no command authority when their National Guard units are overseas or anywhere else in the United States other than their own state.
"When members of the National Guard are federalized, they work for the president," Campbell said Wednesday. "It's not just overseas. They could be federalized to go to other states or they could even be federalized in the state."
Are there occasions in which Palin would have retained command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard? Yes, she would have had authority whenever the Guard was asked to respond to an in-state natural disaster or civic emergency.
The trouble is (for Palin, not the state) is Alaska has had no reason to mobilize the National Guard.
"Natural disasters are fairly sporadic," said Jeremy Zidek, the public information officer for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, which is part of Campbell's department. "Last year," during Palin's first year as governor, "there wasn't much action," Zidek said. “Thankfully, we didn't have any major disasters."
What are some examples of what the Alaska National Guard has done?
"We've deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah Palin," he said. “We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount) Marathon run doing security."
"Out west and northwest we had erosion problems, and the National Guard was involved in some of the protection out there. About three days ago, the Army National Guard picked up a lady from Little Diomede (Island)... at the request of state troopers."
Flooding also occurred in Fairbanks in late July — for which the Guard sent trucks north to provide clean drinking water.
Did Palin directly approve each of those activities?
"No." Campbell said.
It turned out that the governor has granted him the authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies — when a quick response is required — and minor day-to-day operations.
The recent decision to deploy a C-17 cargo plane from the Alaska Air National Guard to Louisiana to assist during the Hurricane Gustav response was an occasion in which Campbell briefed the governor's office but Chief of Staff Mike Nizich was the person who signed off on it.
And Budget wise, the Alaska National Guard receives about 85 percent of its funding from the federal government, and all the federal funding is pre-allocated by Congress.
Wow, so much for her "experience&q
uot; as Commader and Chief.
posted by jrolsen 
